Born to Fly
by Arayllin
Summary: Pit buried his head in his hands, "I'll never be able to fly again..."
1. The Accident

The racecars whizzed by in a blur, and Marth had to shield his face from the cloud of dust that followed. He pushed his dark blue hair out of his eyes, and watched the cars speed around the track. He could hardly remember what had inspired him to accept Captain Falcon's offer to come out here and watch his tournament race, and he was certainly starting to regret it. Of all the people the captain had invited, only a handful had come, and most had wandered away by now – leaving only Marth and Pit.

Marth glanced over his shoulder at the younger boy. He was standing incredibly close to the track, cheering on the racers as they shot by, his hair and clothes covered in the dust. He had a big grin on his face, and Marth turned away, annoyed. Without a doubt, Pit was his least favourite Brawler. Out of all of them, he even liked Wario more than he liked Pit. At least Wario wasn't a troublesome prankster kid. Ever since Pit had arrived, he had done nothing but torment Marth. And always Marth. The prince was getting fed up with it, but no-one ever listened to him. Pit was so popular with the other Brawlers, that they overlooked his faults. It made Marth's blood boil.

He turned again to glare at Pit's back, and then turned away, heading for the exit. Seeing as Pit could fly, he had gotten himself inside of the racing circle, where he had a great view of everything that went on. Though it might have been cool to be so close, Marth wasn't overly fond of the dirt – or Pit – and was glad that he had stayed outside, where there was an easy escape route. He shook his head and left the track.

* * *

"Hey, Marth!" Marth looked up to see Pit waving his arms at him, "They're about to do the last lap!" The angel was grinning from ear to ear, and Marth rolled his eyes, uncaring. He had come back to pick the kid up – against his will of course – as Pit couldn't yet drive. The race was supposed to be done by now, it had been a long time, but apparently it was still going, and Pit was as enthusiastic as ever.

"Come and see!" Marth stared stonily at Pit, waiting for the stupid race to be over so he could take the kid back to the manor and finally get some peace and quiet. Pit turned back to the race, and fixed his eyes on Captain Falcon's car, "Go, Cap! You can do it!" Captain Falcon looked up and gave him a thumbs up. Pit returned the gesture, still grinning. He was so concentrated on Falcon's car, that he hadn't realized what he was doing. Marth squinted his eyes, leaning forward. It looked almost like Pit was actually _on_ the track's edge, and there was a blue racecar approaching…

"Pit!" Marth called loudly, unthinking, and Pit turned to face him. His wings billowed out, and he saw the racecar heading for him. His eyes widened. The car sped by, temporarily blocking Marth's view, and narrowly missing Pit. However, the speed of the car caused its wheels to act like a vacuum, and the force of them grabbed hold of his wing. Marth couldn't see much of what was going on – he was on the opposite side of the car, but he knew that Pit's wing had gotten sucked into the front wheel. The driver, apparently unaware, continued racing, and Pit, caught in the wheel, was dragged along behind him. Marth screamed, and leapt up. After a few seconds, a small trail of blood appeared from behind the car, and Marth freaked out. He ran onto the track, not thinking at all anymore, and raced across, waving his arms like a madman, and hollering to get the driver's attention.

By now, Captain Falcon had discovered that something was wrong, and he looked away from the road to where Marth was acting very out of character. And then he saw the reason why. His car skidded to a halt, mere feet from the finish line, and he was out before it had stopped moving, sprinting towards the center of the track.

The driver of the blue car saw all of this out of the corner of his eye, and he had no idea what was going on. He shook his head and tried to focus on the race, but grew more confused when Falcon exited his car, giving up his chance of winning. _Why?_ Suddenly, he noticed a thin trail of blood in the track ahead of him, and his eyes went wide. _Someone's been hurt!_ He followed it with his eyes, noticing that it seemed to go all the way around the track to… right behind him! He hit the brakes.

Marth lowered his arms as the car skidded across the track. He had a clear view of Pit now, but he couldn't see much at the speed they were going. He raced to the car, faster than he had gone in his life, and reached it before the racer had left the vehicle.

"Pit!" he leaned over the boy, who was staring into the sky, a shocked look frozen on his face, "Pit!" Marth looked him over. He was covered in cuts and scrapes – no doubt from being dragged behind a racecar for an entire lap – and his right wing was completely inside the car from the looks of it – his arm partly as well, probably due to him trying to free himself. Marth looked around, "Falcon! Call for help, quick!" the driver climbed out of the racecar, and nearly doubled over,

"Oh my gosh!" he cried, his eyes the size of dinner plates, "W-what happened? I…I didn't… did he… I…" Marth growled,

"Shut up," he snapped, "I'm thinking!" there was blood everywhere, Marth was covered already, and Pit wasn't responsive. His breathing was shallow, uneven, and Marth found himself fearing for the boy's life. "Pit, can you hear me?" He cradled the limp boy in his arms, careful not to tug on his wing, which was still trapped, "Pit?" Captain Falcon ran up,

"Joe's on his way!" Marth nodded, Joe was the Brawler's official doctor since Dr. Mario had been cut – he would know what to do. Meanwhile, Marth just had to keep Pit out of danger… more danger.

All of the racers were heading towards them, worried about what might have happened, but Captain Falcon shooed them away. Eventually they all moved on, but for the one who owned the blue car, who sat on its hood staring at them.

"Don't worry, Marth," Falcon said slowly, "Joe'll fix him right up." His voice didn't sound very confident, and Marth heard in it the same fears he knew were in his own,

"Yeah… no need to worry…" The two glanced back down at Pit, whose eyes were still staring at a fixed point in space, unaware of everything going on around him. The bleeding was seemingly worse than before, and Marth yanked off his cape in an effort to slow it. He wrapped it around Pit's body, unable to do anything about the worst part – his wing. He hoped Joe would be able to get it out of there.

A sudden commotion at the gate caused the two to look up, and they spotted Joe running towards them, his assistant Kasey at his feet. Kasey was pushing a stretcher as fast as she could, but Joe soon overtook her and caught up to Falcon and Marth,

"What's the pro…" Joe's mouth dropped as he noticed the bloody mess in Marth's arms, "Oh crap." He leaned over and quickly examined Pit. Kasey made it over and left the stretcher to the side, coming over herself to see what was wrong. Her hand went to her mouth. Joe frowned, "This is not good," he said, looking at the wheel and at Pit, "Not good at all." He yanked a syringe out of his long white coat, already stained red. "Marth, get this into him." He handed it over to the prince, and then looked up at Falcon, "Gimme a hand with this, will you?" The two leaned over the wheel.

Marth glanced at the syringe, cringing. He hated needles, and he was supposed to stab it into Pit? He took a deep breath, preparing himself, and then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Allow me?" Kasey stood over them, a worried look on her face. Marth nodded, gladly surrendering the syringe, and Kasey did her work quickly. Pit's eyes focused for a moment, filled with pain, and then rolled back in his head with a sigh. Marth also breathed a sigh of relief, he was asleep, unconscious. No way was he hurting now. Kasey gently took a hold of Pit's head, watching as Falcon and Joe struggled with the wheel. They had managed to get the wheel out of the car with minimal damage to the wing, but the next part wasn't so easy. It seemed that it had actually gotten tangled in the car's inside mechanisms as well, who knew how, and it was going to be a challenge getting it out.

"C'mon," Joe pleaded with the car, "We have to hurry!" The two pulled the car apart, careful of Pit's wing, and after what seemed like forever, were able to get it free. Marth winced when Joe took it out. It was ripped to pieces, no wonder Pit had been in shock. It hardly looked like an angel wing anymore. Joe clenched his teeth together and stood up. "Can you get him on the stretcher?" Marth looked up,

"Oh," he blinked, "Of course." He gathered the boy in his arms and gently lifted him, rising to his feet. He laid him on the stretcher, still wrapped in his cloak, and Kasey grabbed the handle,

"Let's go!" she cried. Joe nodded, and the two started for the gate. Marth and Captain Falcon glanced at the abandoned car by the finish line, and the dissected one covered in blood by the track's edge, and then raced after them, leaving the track bare.


	2. Always the Loser

Link had just gotten out of yet another match with Samus, which he had lost of course, when he got the call. He was attempting to remove his burnt gloves – which were still burning his hands from the explosions caused by Samus' gun, whip and body – but wasn't gaining much ground. In fact, looking them over again, he realized that he was only hurting himself more in trying to help, and so decided to wait until Kasey or Joe showed up. The medics were always there a few minutes after a brawl, to help out with any minor injuries or damage. There were never any major injuries, of course, they made sure of that, giving each brawler special potions before they were allowed on the stage. Despite this, there was the occasional mishap, like when Lucas had broken his arm in that fight against Ganondorf…

Link shook his head, remembering the unfair fight, and leaned back against the wall. From where he was, he could see Samus – still on the stage – being cheered by her many fans, and he rolled his eyes. Someday he would beat her… someday. He was still thinking like this when his watch buzzed, and he held up his left hand.

All the brawlers had specially designed watches that they wore at all times – they were their connection to each other, to Joe, and to the "higher management", as they liked to call them. Through these watches, the fighters could speak with one another, get updates on upcoming and recent fights, and even access the brawl database.

Using his right hand, Link dialed up the necessary numbers before answering the call. It was Zelda, and he hesitated before answering._ Zelda?_ Since when had _she_ been interested in _him_? He didn't waste any more time thinking about it, and answered.

"Hello?" Zelda's image showed up, a holographic picture floating over the watch. He could see bits of the background behind her – she was in the kitchen of the manor, standing by the door.

"Link? Oh, thank goodness I got a hold of you!" Her face looked anxious, and Link's brow creased,

"Everything okay?" He kept his voice careful, not sure what to expect next. Zelda shook her head,

"I don't know, Link," she said, and she swallowed hard, "I… I don't know!"

"You're not making any sense."

"I'm sorry! I'm trying, really." She turned and looked over her shoulder for a moment, and another voice entered Link's hearing range,

"Did you get him?"

"Yes," Zelda nodded, still looking off-screen, "I haven't told him yet… I can't…" Marth came into view,

"You have to," he said, "I need to talk with Joe." He walked off again, and Zelda turned back to Link, who was frowning deeply,

"Joe?" He repeated, "Zelda, what's going on?" She sighed and then nodded,

"There's been an accident," she said, her voice barely audible, "I don't know the details, but Pit's been hurt."

"Pit?" Link's heart skipped a beat. Pit was his best friend, what could have happened to him? "Is it bad?"

"I don't know, Link. But…"

"But?"

"There was a lot of blood."  
Link didn't say anything else, but his face said enough, and Zelda looked at the ground. His eyes were disbelieving, as if he didn't want to listen, but the colour was draining from his face.

"He's going to be okay, though, right?"

She hesitated, "…I don't know, Link." He closed his eyes, and then opened them again,

"I'll be right there."

"No, Link, I can–" He closed the connection and headed back onto the stage. His burnt hands suddenly seemed to be of little importance, as did his humiliating loss, and Samus was surprised to see him on-stage.

"You want another beating?" She asked, raising a fist in a mock attack. Link didn't blink.

"I need to go." She looked down at his hands,

"You haven't seen Joe yet?" she asked, "That's not a good idea, you know,"

"Don't care," he cut her off, "I need you to fill in for me? The next fight's supposed to be me versus Meta, but I can't stay."

"'Fraid he's going to kick your butt too?" She was teasing, but Link shook his head,

"None of your business. Just fill in for me, okay?"

"You have to tell me where you're going first."

"Samus, I need to go!"

She crossed her arms, "Then good luck finding a stand-in." Link scowled,

"Thanks," He turned and headed for the exit, causing a murmur to start in the audience that Samus had forgotten about. She turned and headed off-stage herself, meeting with her manager Brian behind it.

"What's up with him?" She nodded towards Link, who had gotten into his car and was driving away, leaving his own manager stranded. Brian shrugged,

"I don't know," he said, and Samus narrowed her eyes,

"Well, find out – it's bugging me."

"Yes, ma'am," He hurried away, and Samus leaned up against the wall.

"This could be interesting."

* * *

Link made it to the manor in record time, parking in his place in the back lot and heading inside as quickly as his legs could carry him, barely glancing up at the doorman's greeting. He went into the elevator, pushing the button for the next floor up – the floor the clinic was on. The large room was rarely used, as brawlers were rarely injured bad enough to need it, but every once in a while, things happened. Like when Kirby had gotten pneumonia, or when DK and Bowser got into a fight while in the manor, each trying to kill the other. That had ended well.

Link took a deep breath as the elevator slowed, and then stopped, preparing himself for whatever he was about to see. The doors opened, and he stepped into the hallway. Other than the clinic, this floor was basically empty – most rooms used for storage, though one had been converted into a rarely-used game room. Link walked by this room on his way to the clinic, stopping again in front of the double doors for a moment before entering.

The first thing he saw once inside was Zelda. She was sitting, back against the wall, on the floor, staring at her hands. Beside her stood Captain Falcon, who appeared at a loss for words, though his hand on her shoulder appeared comforting. Other than those two, the room was bare, and Link wondered how many people actually knew about what had happened yet. Joe typically kept things confidential, unless otherwise stated, so there had to be some reason for Falcon's, Zelda's, and Marth's involvement. He couldn't remember any of them being particularly close to Pit.

Link cleared his throat, and princess and captain looked up.

"Oh," Zelda rose to her feet, gently shrugging Falcon's hand off her shoulder, "You're here." She came to his side, and Link nodded,

"O-of course." He glanced up at Falcon, who nodded back, and then looked at the ground,

"I'm sorry." He said softly, "This is all my fault…"

"And Marth says it's all his," Zelda cut in, "this is no-one's fault – stop picking on yourself!"

"But–"

"Falcon," Link cut in, saving Zelda the trouble, "What's happened?" Captain Falcon shook his head,

"Not my place to tell you, I think," He said, "Besides, I don't really want to talk about it right now…" he turned and went back over to the chairs in the "waiting corner" of the room, sitting down hard and burying his face in his hands.

"Poor guy," Zelda said, her eyes filled with sympathy, "He's really taking this hard. And I think Marth's even worse."

"Where _is_ Marth?" Link looked around, having given up on hearing the details until everyone was ready. "I haven't seen him today…"

"Joe sent him to his room," She told him, "He was really upset. Says it's all his fault."

There was a short pause, and then Link surprised himself. He took Zelda by her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Zelda," his blue eyes met hers, "I need to know what happened. No, I need to see Pit." She looked at him for a moment, a look on her face Link had never seen before, and then nodded. She walked slowly over to the double doors on the other side of the waiting room. Behind these doors, Link knew, were a dozen or so rooms, much like each brawler's room, but designed for hospital use. When Joe had patients that needed medical attention, or needed to stay the night with him, he would use these rooms, and that was where, Link figured, they had Pit.

Sure enough, Zelda led him to the door at the end of the hall, and then she gently, gently knocked on the window, which was covered over with black paper. "For privacy," Joe had said. It seemed like forever before Kasey slipped out, her nurse's outfit stained with red, and she looked up at the brawlers,

"Hey guys," her voice was tired, and her mouth lifted in a half-smile, but it didn't seem real, so she dropped it. "What's up?"

Link didn't reply – he was too busy staring at the stains on her white coat,

"Is that…?" He couldn't finish the sentence, and Kasey couldn't answer it, but she dipped her head,

"It's getting better," she said, a trace of hope in her voice, "Definitely better."

"Kasey, let me see him!" Link grabbed at her arm, suddenly desperate. "I need to see him!" At this point, though he still didn't really know what was going on, he knew it was serious, and also that he wasn't being told how serious. "Please!"

"I'm sorry, Link," She pulled her arm back, "Nobody can come in right now – he's not stable enough. He's not even conscious yet, we've only had him here ten minutes yet."

"Not conscious?" Link hadn't even been told this much, "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kasey re-assured him, "Don't worry, we'll take care of him. Why don't you go to your room and rest for a while, hmm? I can look at your hands as soon as I'm done here." She didn't wait for an answer, but disappeared into the room again, the lock clicking behind her.

"Link, I…" Zelda reached towards him,

"They won't even let me in!" Link fell back against the wall, "He's my best friend! I… I can't just do nothing! He's… he…." He trailed off, staring at the ground despairingly.

"I know, Link," Zelda took his hand in hers, "I know."

* * *

"Samus, ma'am!" Samus' head snapped up, and she spotted Brian running towards her,

"It's about time," she said under her breath, "Did you find out what's going on?"

Brian stopped beside her, panting, "Yes," he said, his double chin bobbing, "Yes, I did,"

"And?"

"It seems that a friend of his, a brawler even, has gotten into some kind of accident and is in the hospital. They won't let anyone in, from what I saw, and–"

"Who?" Samus had heard enough

"Who what?" The fat man blinked.

"Who got hurt?" Samus had to restrain herself from strangling him.

"Oh, right." Brian nodded, "I don't know. Supposedly his best friend, though I don't know who–"

"Pit." Samus cut him off again, her voice low. "Pit's been injured. And Link got called back, and he asked me…" she was talking to herself now, and she gave Brian a death glare when she remembered him, which sent him running again,

"Sorry, ma'am!" he called, heading back around the stage.

Samus rolled her eyes and turned back to the problem at hand. Maybe she should have listened when Link had talked to her on the stage…

A sudden sound cut off her thoughts – the stage was being swapped. She braced herself, and waited as the sounds of New Pork City faded, soon replaced with those of Wario Ware. The crowd began to get restless, and soon the announcer's voice came on over the loudspeaker.

"For the next – and last – fight of the evening," he announced, "Please give it up for Meta Knight," the crowd went wild, "And … Link!" More cheering, but it didn't last as long, and the crowd grew silent. "Ahem," the announcer cleared his throat, "And Link!"

Still behind stage, Samus growled, strapping on her gun and heading for the stairs,

"I'm going soft," she said to herself, "I must be going soft…"


	3. A Dark and Gloomy Night

That night, Marth awoke to the sound of screaming. Blood-curdling screaming. Coming from somewhere below him.

He was awake almost instantly, and without even bothering to throw on his cape, or fix his hair, he was out the door. He nearly ran into Samus in the hallway, who was also in her pajamas, and together the two made for the elevator.

"First floor," Samus said quickly, "That's where it's coming from." But first, the elevator stopped on the second floor, where a bunch more brawlers climbed on. Even more were heading down the stairs. Everyone was a little freaked out, a little annoyed, and very tired. After all, it _was_ the middle of the night.

When they stopped on the first floor, Marth and the others left the elevator, all ready for trouble. Noticing Samus' gun strapped to her arm, Marth wished he had thought to bring his sword, but it was far too late for that. He ran his fingers through his tangly hair, and suddenly, it dawned on him.

The screams had come from the clinic.

_Pit!_

Without saying a word, Marth shoved by Samus and began racing down the hall. She called after him, and then headed after, growling to herself. She too had an idea of what could be going on.

When they reached the clinic, mere moments later, Marth burst into the waiting room. He raced through there and went into the hall where the rooms were. At this point, the screaming had stopped, but he still found himself covered in a cold sweat as he made his way to Pit's room. What he found at the door was more or less what he had expected.

"Kasey, please!" Link was standing at the door, holding tight to the teenager's arm, "You have to let us in!" Behind him, Zelda was staring at the door, her fists clenched and her blue eyes glistening. Looking at them, Marth figured they had been there all night.

"I'm sorry, Link," Kasey was saying, "I can't – oh!" She spotted Marth and Samus standing there, both looking worried and confused.

"What's going on?" Marth's voice was steady, the opposite of his feelings. Kasey bit her lip,

"Did we wake you guys up?" She said apologetically. Marth noticed she wasn't answering the question, "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to–"

"You woke up the whole darned manor, Kasey," Samus crossed her arms, "Now, if you don't mind explaining what's going on, and then we can worry about it together?"

"I'm sorry," Kasey said again, "But I can't. You don't need to worry about it, just go back to bed."

"Go back to bed?" Link didn't look so good, Marth thought, and Zelda placed a hand on the hero's arm, "Go back to bed? My best friend is in there, Kasey! And I've been out here all night, and you still won't tell me what's going on! I need–"

"Link, calm down!" Kasey pushed his hand away from her, "It's fine, really. I just…"

She was interrupted by another loud scream, and everyone winced.

"Kasey!" Joe's voice cut through the door, "C'mere, I need your help!" She looked between the others,

"I'm sorry," she mouthed, slipping back inside the room. Link dove for the door, but it was closed and locked again before he could reach it.

There was silence for a moment, and everyone could hear the shuffling from inside. There was a lot of moving, and they could hear Joe cursing to himself, and Kasey scrambling around.

Another scream cut through the air, and Link sank to the ground, his back against the wall. He buried his head in his legs, and Zelda turned to Marth and Samus,

"You said the others were out there?" They nodded, and she sighed, "Think you can get them back to bed?"

"Alright," Marth said, "But then I'm coming back." She nodded, not willing to argue,

"Okay. Thanks." He turned and headed for the door, Samus behind, and Zelda turned back to Link.

When they got back to the elevator, the rest of the brawlers were still there, trying to figure out where the screams were coming from.

"Guys!" Marth called out, trying to get their attention, "Hey, guys?" No-one paid him any attention, "Everyone, please–"

"LISTEN UP PEOPLE!" Samus screamed, and everyone stopped talking, turning to stare at her and Marth. The prince cleared his throat,

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Okay," Marth turned back to the brawlers, who were waiting for him to say something, "I'm sure you're all confused as to what the heck is going on here, but… I want you to know that it's being taken care of, and–" Another scream sounded from the clinic, and he had to pause for a moment, "And, that you can all go back to bed."

Everyone looked at him suspiciously, until a few glares from Samus sent them their own ways, most still grumbling about being woken up at such an hour only to be told there was no problem.

"You sure there's nothing up, Marth?" Princess Peach was at his side, all dolled up in a pink (but of course) nightdress, "I'm pretty worried, to be honest." Marth nodded,

"Don't worry, Princess," he said, "It'll be fine." Again, he was surprised at how confident he sounded, when he felt so helpless, but he smiled at her and she went off with the others.

"You should get back to bed, too," He said, turning to Samus. She rolled her eyes,

"What, you think I don't have a heart?" Marth blinked at her – what did she mean? She didn't know about what had happened… did she?

"You think I'm clueless as the rest of them." She said, pulling her messy blonde hair into a ponytail, "Well, actually, I know enough that I think I'm going to stick around for a while. I don't like being left out of things, you know." Marth shook his head, and started back for the clinic. He knew better than to argue with Samus – it was one of the unspoken rules of the manor.

"Do what you want," he told her, entering the clinic. She followed him,

"I think I will."

* * *

Hours later, Marth, Samus, Zelda, and Link were still sitting together in the waiting room. Marth and Samus were still in their pajamas, and Zelda and Link in their clothes from the day before, and all were growing tired of the waiting. They hadn't heard any screaming for a while, and the loud sounds coming from the hallway had become fewer and far between, but still patience was waning.

"Why can't someone just tell me what's happened?" Link asked suddenly, breaking the silence, "I don't know anything other than the fact that it's bad, and bloody." He scowled, "Zelda, just tell me what happened!"

"I… I can't." she said, "I don't know what happened, I really don't."

"That makes three of us then," Samus added.

"Mmm," Zelda nodded, "I just happened to be in the hall when they brought him in. Marth told me to call you, Link, and then they vanished into the clinic. All I saw was… nothing really. It was all covered up by then."

"And I only know what my manager told me." Samus leaned back in her chair, folding her arms behind her head, "Which is even less than that."

"So then, nobody knows what happened?" Link looked at the girls. Samus shrugged, but Zelda shook her head.

"Marth," she said, "And Captain Falcon. They were there – they brought him in remember?"

The three turned to Marth, who had suddenly grown quiet.

"Marth?" Link prodded his friend, "What happened?" Marth was staring at his feet, and he didn't look up as he answered.

"We were at the race track," he said slowly, "I think you were there too, Link, but you left early for your match." Link nodded, "Well," Marth continued, "I left too, but I had to come back near the end to pick up Pit. He was in the middle of the track, where he had a great view of the race, and even though he invited me over a dozen times, I…I wouldn't listen to him. Maybe if I had…"

"Marth," There was warning in Zelda's voice, "Don't start this again." Marth swallowed hard, but nodded, and finally looked up, meeting Link's eyes.

"It was the last lap, and he was so focused on Falcon that he didn't realize he was stepping into the track. I spotted a car, near the edge of the track, that was coming towards him and I called out for him to get out of the way. When he turned to look at me… his wings caught the wind." He paused, looking away again for a moment, before going on, "He… he got caught in the wheel of the car. His wing, I mean. It dragged him for an entire lap before I could catch the driver's attention, and then it slammed on the breaks. When Falcon and I got there…" he trailed off again, shaking his head. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't tried to warn him, it would've gone right past! I… I nearly killed the kid!"

"But you were trying to help," Zelda said sincerely, "You didn't know what would happen."

"But still…" Marth closed his eyes, opening them when Samus hit him on the head,

"Finish the story!" she said, "What did you do?"

"Well… his wing was inside the car when it finally stopped," Marth looked at his hands, "And part of his arm too. There was a trail of blood leading around the track, and already a pool of it by the time I got there. I wrapped him in my cape to try and stop the bleeding, but I couldn't help him where he needed it. The worst part was that he was still awake."

"He was?" Link's voice was a whisper. Marth nodded,

"Sort of," he said, looking back at the others, "He was staring into space, in shock I think. He was breathing heavy, and he was shaking… I got Falcon to call Joe, and, well, that was about it. I really thought I had killed him."

"But you didn't," Zelda cut in, ever the comforter, "He's going to be okay."

"_You_ didn't see him when they got him out," Marth spat, "He barely even has a wing anymore. Even if he lives, he's never going to be the same! And it's all my fault!"

Nobody said anything for a while, each occupied with their own thoughts. Marth was beating on himself and Zelda was trying to figure out how to comfort him, which seemed impossible at this stage. Samus didn't know what to think – typically she didn't care much about the other brawlers, but this…

Link was struggling with his own emotions. He knew it wasn't Marth's fault, and he knew nothing could be done about it, but he felt so helpless.

"I need to see him." He said, standing up, "I _need_ to."

"Link, I…" Zelda also stood up, but he shook his head,

"Stay here, Zelda." He went over to the door, and walked through it, heading down to Pit's room. He knocked gently on the door, and Kasey slipped out.

"Hi, Link."

"Can I come in now?" His voice was all business, no more pleading.

"Uh..." Kasey thought for a moment, and then poked her head back inside, "I think so." Link's heart fluttered,

"Really?"

"Yup," Kasey nodded, "I need to take a look at your hands, anyway." He glanced down at his burnt hands, which he had forgotten about and then made for the door, "Wait." Kasey held up a hand, "I need you to know before-hand – this is serious." Link looked at her, "He's asleep right now, and under **no circumstances** do we want him waking up. Is that clear?" He nodded, "Alright, good. And also, I don't want you talking too loudly; it could wake him if he recognizes your voice, and no touching. Understood?" He nodded again, and she opened the door.

Link stepped in carefully, as if one wrong step would sign his death warrant, and Kasey closed the door behind them. Joe looked up as they entered, and nodded once at Link, looking back to his computer without a second glance.

Kasey went to his side, leaving the Hylian on his own. Link glanced to the single bed in the middle of the room. He started slowly towards it, careful not to step too loudly. He made it to the bedside, and then looked down.

Under the blankets, one would think that Pit was only asleep. His wings appeared folded underneath him as usual, though Link knew that the injured one was likely spread out under the covers. The boy's face was much paler than usual, due to blood loss, Link was sure, but he looked peaceful regardless. There were multiple tubes and wires coming from under the blankets, and a low beeping sound was following Pit's heartbeat. At least that sounded normal…

_Beep-beep Beep-beep Beep-beep_

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Kasey smiling up at him sympathetically.

"He'll be okay," she mouthed, pointing him to a chair near the head of the bed. Link sat down without a word, and Kasey nodded towards his hands. He shook his head, but she sat down on the floor in front of him anyway, and worked away while he stared at his friend. When she was done, his hands were bandaged up, and feeling better, but Link didn't even notice. She stood up and leaned over to whisper in his ear,

"Would you like to see?"

Link looked up at her, opening his mouth to speak, but found no words coming out. He thought it over for a minute, and then nodded his head.

Kasey nodded back, and then stood up. Her long dirty blonde swayed behind her as she went around to the other side of the bed. Carefully, she lifted the covers off of the boy, gently as not to disturb him. Link stood to watch, and he hid a gasp when they came off.

Suddenly, it looked a lot worse.

As Link had guessed, Pit's left wing was folded under him normally, while his right wing was spread out awkwardly across the bed… or what was left of it. Marth hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was nearly gone. It was covered in bandages, but from what Link could see it was less than a quarter of its usual size, and he could see no feathers visible on it.

The boy was shirtless, and the many cuts and scrapes from his "ride" were visible, though none appeared too bad. His right arm was swathed in bandages as well, so that Link couldn't even see the injury, and though the bandage was stained red, it didn't appear to be bleeding at the moment.

Link glanced up at Kasey again, who reached across the bed to put a hand on his arm.

"It'll be okay," she said softly, and her voice was like honey to his aching heart. Link nodded, and she pulled the covers back up over Pit's body.

She nodded to the door, and Link, too numb to argue, left the room. He leaned up against the wall outside for a good five minutes before heading back to the waiting room where the others were still sitting.

"Oh, Link!" Zelda was on her feet as soon as he entered the room, "They let you in!" She eyed his bandaged hands, and the hero nodded,

"Y-yeah… they let me in," he repeated, and Zelda looked at him oddly,

"Are you alright?" she asked, "It… It's not that bad, is it?"

"I told you it was." Marth's voice was quiet, and he looked up at Link, "He's going to be okay?" Link took a seat beside Zelda,

"Kasey says he'll be fine." He told them, "He's asleep, but…" He licked his lips, "Yeah, it's bad."

There was yet another silence, and Zelda looked everyone over,

"You know what," she said, "We should take a break." The other brawlers looked up at her, "We've been here all night, Link, and this can't be good for us. I think we should all get dressed, and meet upstairs. We need to do something if we're not going to sleep."

"Like what?" Samus raised an eyebrow, and Zelda shrugged,

"I have no idea." She admitted, "But we'll think of something. Now, let's go!" She managed to get them out of the room, and soon each brawler was heading to their own room, with plans to meet on the roof once ready for the day.


	4. Up and At 'Em

"Mmm, this _does_ feel better." Back in her Zero Suit, Samus was sitting on the edge of the roof, watching the rising sun. Behind her Zelda, in a new dress – though one could never tell – smiled,

"I knew it would."

Samus bit back a sarcastic comment – she didn't much like picking on girls.

"This is pretty weird." She said instead, "I mean, me hanging out with you guys." Zelda raised an eyebrow, and Samus went on, "I don't even _like_ you guys, why on earth am I hanging out with you?"

"Umm," the princess ventured a guess, "Because you're a good person, and you're as worried about Pit as the rest of us?"

"Yup," Samus laughed, "You've got me down to a tee." She rolled her eyes, muttering something about no-one knowing her.

"Well that's got a simple explanation," Zelda said cheerfully, sitting down next to Samus and letting her feet dangle off the edge, "You never let any of us know you. Maybe if you'd hang out with us more often…"

* * *

"So, the screams last night?" Ness was grinning as he leaned across the table, "I betcha I know where they came from!" Across from him, Luigi shivered,

"And where might that be?" While the man in green was wide-eyed, Fox wasn't fazed in the least.

"Easy." Ness said confidently, "Ghosts!" He held his arms up in the air, "That manor must be _haunted_!"

"_Haunted_?" Luigi jumped, and Fox laughed,

"Keep on dreaming, kid." He stood to go into the kitchen, and nearly ran into Link on his way out, "Hey Link."

The hero looked up, "Oh… hey." He seemed distracted, so Fox let him go by, and went into the kitchen. The manor's chef, Kirby, looked up as he came in.

"Hi-i-i!" Kirby grinned, and Fox rolled his eyes,

"I just want an apple, honest."

Minutes later, when he came back into the dining room, Ness was standing up on the table, telling the entire room about the "ghost of Brawl Manor".

"He was assigned to be a new character in Brawl," he said, eyes wide, "But he got in a terrible accident before he could join the roster, and now his spirit haunts this place; this place that was supposed to be his fame and fortune. He is… _the Ghost of Brawl Manor!_" Luigi and Lucas looked freaked out, but everyone else seemed entertained.

"He only haunts those who talk about him," Ike piped up, "You might want to keep an eye out, Ness."

Ness glanced behind him, and everyone laughed. Fox rolled his eyes again and sat down beside Falco.

"This could be interesting."

Ness continued his stories, with additions from both Ike and Fox, but Peach had heard enough. She knew as well as anyone that the screaming had not come from a specter, but that it had been very real. Strange occurrences were common around the manor, and most everyone was already over the disturbance, and even making light of it, but Peach didn't let go of things that easily.

Something was going on, and she wanted in.

She dismissed herself from her table, telling Mario she had to go to the washroom, and headed down the hall. Going up the stairs, she had an idea of what she was going to do.

Clearly, Marth knew what was going on - he had been the one telling her to go back to bed the night before, and perhaps Samus did too. She hadn't seen Zelda all day, which was a clue in itself, and where Zelda was, Link was. Thinking about it, she hadn't heard from Pit or Kasey for a while either, and though she didn't know Pit too well, Kasey was a good friend of hers, and so not seeing her was cause for worry.

The princess stopped at the top of the stairs, thinking over her options. She could continue to Marth's room, or Zelda's, or she could head for the clinic and see what Kasey knew.

In the end, she didn't have to make the decision at all, as Marth walked down the hall, going right past her, but not seeing her. He headed down the hall, and then up the stairs to the roof. Peach's curiosity got the better of her, and she tried her hardest to stay quiet as she went up the stairs after him.

The roof of the manor was designed to look like a garden, a relaxing place for the brawlers to come after a tough match, or a hard night. The design was a big help to Peach now, as she was able to sneak around behind everyone and hide behind shrubs, where she had a perfect view of everything going on, but no-one could see her.

She was a little surprised to see how much she had gotten right – Zelda and Samus were sitting on the edge of the roof, and Link was leaning up against one of the guardrails. Marth was a little to the side, staring at the horizon, and Captain Falcon was sitting on one of the lounge chairs, looking at his hands.

_What was going on here?_

"So…" Zelda looked behind her, at the boys, "What do you guys want to do?" There was a pause before anyone answered,

"Do?" Link's voice shook, "I don't want to do anything. I just… I don't know."

"What he said." Marth nodded, and Falcon shrugged.

"Oh, don't even bother." Samus stood up, rolling her eyes, "When a guy gets depressed, it's best to let it run its course." Zelda pulled away from the edge, looking up at the taller woman,

"Oh?"

"Trust me." Samus grinned and headed over to where Link was staring into space. With a single move, she grabbed his arm and flung him effortlessly over the edge.

He screamed, caught off guard, and yanked out his clawshot. By the time he got it latched onto the building, he was on the second floor, and as he climbed back up, the others turned to Samus, shocked.

"_What_ was _that_?" Zelda cried, throwing her arms into the air. Captain Falcon had gotten out of his chair, and Marth was staring at her indignantly. Nobody even bothered to check if Link was alright – they all knew he was on his way.

"What was what?" Samus asked casually, leaning back against the same rail she had just tipped the hero over.

"You _pushed_ him off the _edge_!" Zelda flung her arms out, "You could've killed him!"

"You don't mean that," Samus pointed at her, "He had his clawshot on him."

"But you don't push him off the roof!" Marth took a step forward, "That's crazy!"

"We do it all the time in brawls."

"This _isn't _a brawl." Zelda crossed her arms,

"Well.," Samus shrugged as if to say "what can you do?", and Falcon shook his head,

"Now, look," he said, his voice calm, "Just because–"

"Link!" Zelda ran to the edge as Link's head emerged. She helped him back over the railing, and he turned to Samus.

"What was that for?" he asked angrily, and Samus shrugged again,

"I was trying to help."

"Help?" Link's eyes were disbelieving, "How did that help?"

"Well, you're not brooding anymore, are you?"

There was a slight pause as the others considered this. It was true – she had gotten both Marth and Falcon back from their little guilt-trips, and Link was feeling a little better about the whole thing as well.

"Well, what do you know?" He leaned back against the railing, suddenly not angry, and Samus smirked,

"If you're asking about yourself, not a whole lot." He glared at her, but then rolled his eyes,

"Thanks for pushing me, I guess." Samus grinned, "But don't do it again!" He added as an afterthought.

"Sure, sure," she laughed, "Only for the rest of my life!" She reached over to tip him again, but Zelda stepped in,

"Not right now," she smiled, "This is why we have brawls."

"So we can beat up Link?" Samus cracked her knuckles.

"Not what I was going to say."

Still behind the shrubs, Peach couldn't help but giggle, and she clamped a hand over her mouth when Zelda look up.

"Did you hear that?" she asked the others. Everyone shook their heads, and Peach breathed a sigh of relief. If they discovered her eavesdropping on them, things could go bad quickly.

Marth came back over and sat in one of the lounge chairs – the one nearest her hiding spot, and the others joined him.

"Are you guys thirsty?" Zelda asked, looking up at the sun. It was a pretty hot day, and being on the roof, they got the full brunt of the heat.

"Yeah, kind of." Link admitted. Marth and Falcon nodded as well. Samus smiled sweetly,

"Be a dear and fetch us some drinks, Zelda?"

* * *

"So, the sleep meds should be wearing off any minute now." Joe and Kasey leaned over Pit's sleeping figure.

"He's going to wake up," Kasey said, biting her lip, "Will it be better this time?"

"I don't know," came the doctor's honest reply. For anyone else, he would have said "of course", but he knew Kasey well enough, and, as his assistant, she knew everything he did. "He was delusional last time," Joe continued, "Not himself; he'd lost too much blood."

"But…" Kasey looked down, "He's still lost a lot of blood."

"Yes, but he's had a while to rest now, so…"

"So?"

"Hopefully he'll be better. And if not, we can put him back to sleep with the click of a button."

"Are you gonna…?" She hesitated, twirling a lock of hair around in her fingers,

"Gonna what?" Joes glanced up at her.

"You know, make sure he can't get away this time?"

"Hmm?"

"Joe," Kasey folded her arms. "Last night, he tried not only to get away, but he physically attacked you… us!"

"He wasn't in his right state of mind."

"I know that!" Kasey threw up her arms, "But you have to be sure, right? I mean, what if he _still_ isn't? I…"

She trailed off when there was a sound from the bed. The angel was attempting to roll over, and Joe gently held his shoulders to the bed so he wouldn't roll onto his wing or arm.

"He isn't going to take this well." The man's voice was softer now, and Kasey shook her head,

"No," she agreed, "He really isn't."

Pit's eyes flickered, and Kasey held her breath. When he opened his eyes, they looked weak. Weak, and pain-filled, she thought, but they didn't look delusional. They looked … normal.

"Pit?" She whispered, and the boy turned his head.

"K-Kasey?" His eyes were barely open – he was squinting at her, and she did her best to smile,

"Good morning." She said, attempting to keep her voice cheerful.

"Good… what?" Pit blinked. He had just woken up, and he had no idea what was going on, or how he had gotten there, or why he was hurting all over…

"How are you feeling?" Joe came over to the left side of the bed so Pit wouldn't have to turn around again. Pit didn't reply right away, but first spent a moment looking around the room, and then turned to look at his right wing and arm, which were throbbing strangely. Before he had a chance to see anything, however, Joe gently took him by the chin and turned him back to facing them. "Feeling any better?" Pit blinked again,

"Better?"

"Yes," Kasey chimed in, "How are you feeling?"

"Umm… confused?" He really had no idea what was going on. Kasey smiled sympathetically,

"Other than that?" She asked, her voice kind. Pit shrugged,

"My wing hurts…" he said slowly, "and it feels … funny…"

"Funny?"

"I don't know." He turned his head again to look at his wing, but again Joe intercepted, and Pit looked up at him, confusion in his blue eyes.

"Why are you doing that?" He asked carefully. Joe shook his head,

"Not yet," Was all he would say, but whenever Pit attempted to turn around from then on, he stopped him. Eventually, Kasey pulled the blankets up over his right side, telling him not to worry about it.

"Not worry about it?" Pit was fully awake by now, "But something's wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Kasey asked innocently. She didn't want this to get rough – Joe had stepped out for a moment, and had left her in charge or making sure Pit didn't see anything he wasn't ready for.

"What do I mean?" the boy's brow furrowed, "I have no idea what's going on here – I just woke up in the clinic, the hospital, and my wing hurts and my arm hurts, and you won't even let me look at myself!"

"Pit…" Kasey sighed, "Not yet, okay?"

"Not yet what?" Anger flashed in his eyes, and he made to sit up. Kasey jumped at him, pushing him down as gently as she could. Though she was older, Pit was typically stronger than she was, but in his current condition, he could do nothing against her, and he flopped back against the pillows.

"I'm gonna figure this out eventually." He said, not meeting her eyes.

"…figure what out?"

"What's going on" He looked at her, "Why I'm here, what happened, and why you won't let me look at my injuries."

"You… don't remember what happened?"

"No," Pit shook his head, ""No, I don't." This surprised Kasey – he hadn't hit his head according to their x-rays and checkups, but he _had_ been in shock…

"What _do_ you remember?" She sat in a chair, leaning close in case he decided to try getting up again.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"That's what I said." He paused, "The last thing I remember is leaving to watch Falcon's race this morning. I was in Marth's car…"

"That was yesterday, Pit." Kasey smiled at him kindly, "You've been … out for a while."

"Yesterday?" Pit was as confused as ever, "I've been sleeping for an entire day?"

"Yup," Kasey figured he didn't remember his "episode" the night before, and she certainly wasn't going to bring it up.

_What a relief…_

"Man, I overslept. I need to get up." He moved to get up again, but Kasey shook her head.

"Don't make me tie you down, boy." She said, her voice teasing, but serious. Pit stopped,

"You wouldn't really."

"Try me."

He lay back again, "But I have a brawl today!" he said, surprisingly whiny, "I can't just lie here forever! I'm supposed to fight Pikachu!"

"Pikachu can wait." Kasey looked over at the many machines and gadgets hooked up to the boy, which all seemed to be doing well. Pit followed her gaze.

"Is that really necessary?" He looked down at his left arm, noticing the needle stuck through it for the first time.

"Yes."

"But–"

"No arguing, Pit." Her voice was serious, and, as everyone knew, when Kasey was serious, you didn't try and argue with her. It was another unspoken rule of the manor.

He lay back on the pillows and stared up at the sky as she fiddled around with things. After a while, she went over to her laptop – as well as the manor's assistant doctor, Kasey was a university student, and so was usually very busy – but she kept an eye on Pit the entire time, so he couldn't steal a glance at his wing.

After a while, Joe came back, and after some serious interrogation –

"How're you feeling?"

"Same as before."

"Any pain anywhere?"

"My wing, my arm… and I wish I knew why."

– he gave Pit some medication.

Soon, the boy started to get drowsy. He was aware of Kasey and Joe watching him as he drifted off, and he realized that the pain meds had probably been more than that, but at that point he was too tired to care. The last thing he heard before it went black was Kasey, talking in her sweet, caring voice:

"Poor kid," she said, "This isn't going to be easy for him…"

* * *

"Hi-i-i!" Kirby grinned as wide as he could when Zelda entered the kitchen, and she returned the smile.

"Hi, Kirby," She said quickly, "I'm only here for a few drinks, if you could just…" Kirby's mouth dropped, and he grabbed up his translator from the counter.

"Zelda!" he said, shocked, "I didn't know you drank! That's…" She cut him off,

"Not _that_ kind of drink Kirby!" She opened up the fridge, "Got any Pepsi?"

"Oh." Kirby laughed nervously, and headed for the other fridge – on of five in the large room. "Sorry. I tend to assume the worst when it comes to these things… you know… living here…"

Zelda nodded, understanding completely.

"I'm sure it's a good time." She said, gratefully taking the Pepsi cans he placed on the table. "Thanks."

He went back into the fridge, "Anything else?" he asked, suddenly very cheerful. Zelda began inching towards the door,

"No no," she said quickly, "We'll be fine with just this," Kirby looked up, his eyes big and begging,

"Are you suuuuure?"

This likely would have gone on for a very long time, but thankfully Zelda was saved by Kirby's watch going off on his wrist.

"Oh no!" Kirby cried, leaping up, "I have a match in five minutes! I forgot!" He swept through the kitchen, having everything tidy in a matter of seconds. "Sorry, Zelda, gotta go!"

And just like that, he was gone.

Shaking her head, and smiling to herself, the Hylian princess started back up the stairs.


	5. Pretty Princess

**A/N: **_This chapter does not contain much about the current main characters, but goes off on a sort of side-plot in the story. It also contains some slight character bashing, which is nothing personal, but is essential for the story at this point. ^-^_

_(It happens to be my fave character too, so…)_

* * *

"**And it's another close call for Kirby," **The announcer's voice boomed across the flat Smashville stage, and Kirby just jumped out of the way of another attack. **"Meta Knight is giving it his best this morning!" **The announcer, Steve, was good at his job, Kirby thought, flying high into the air. One of the disadvantages of fighting Meta was that he could fly himself, and soon the two were engaged in vicious air combat, smashing each other to the ground like punching bags.

"I'm impressed, Kirby," Meta said in his strange, un-placeable accent, "You are doing better than I had expected."

"Thanks." Kirby smiled, barely able to leap up as Meta's blade sliced by his head. "Hey!"

"You must keep your guard up at all times," Meta reminded him, twirling his sword around in his hand,

"I know that!" Kirby cried unhappily, "But we were talking!"

"No time for talking in a brawl, Kirb." Meta jumped on top of him, and it was all Kirby could do to keep himself from getting sliced to bits.

"**And it would appear," **Steve's voice again came on over the intercom, **"That neither one is succeeding an inch!"** The audience groaned – both at the Pokémon reference, as well as the fact that it was true. Meta was throwing skilled slices all over the place, and Kirby was jumping and hopping out of the way, light as the air he inhaled to do so. After already having done two minutes of this, Kirby was getting tired, and he was continually looking up, hoping for a Brawl Ball, or at least a Sticky Bomb. Either one would be useful.

From the audience, a young girl sat with her friends, staring intently at the screen above their heads. This screen looked much like a video game – showing both fighters and the amount of damage they had taken so far. Kirby was only at 20%, and Meta at 5, though the girl was cheering for the hero, of course.

"Go Kirby!" She jumped up, forgetting herself in the moment. Her friends looked at her funny, but she shrugged it off and continued cheering. The only thing, she thought, that could make this fight better, were if Pit was involved. She found herself smiling just thinking about it. She wasn't a fangirl, exactly – mostly because they creeped her out – but she was a big fan of his, and watching him fight was always exciting. But, then, Kirby was so adorable…

She was on the edge of her seat as Meta slashed Kirby around the stage. _Poor guy_, she thought. If he hadn't been able to fly, Kirby would've been history by now. After a while, he began to get some kind of strategy, dodging around the swordsman's blade and hitting him in the back, and by the buzzer neither had been KO'D, but Kirby had more damage. This led to a sudden death match, in which Meta knocked Kirby clean off the platform, seemingly effortlessly. The puffball flew back up himself, but the damage had been done, and the next hit took him out.

The audience went wild, many cheering for Meta, and many booing for Kirby's defeat. Natasha cheered as loudly as the rest of them, but she dismissed herself as soon as the announcer began to announce the results.

"I'll be right back," she told her friends, grabbing her autograph book and taking off. She had learned from experience that the best way to get an autograph was to go near the back of the stage right after a brawl – the participants typically stuck around a while after the match, and they were usually in a good mood.

Though she had many autographs, Natasha had yet to get one from her favourite brawlers – those being Pit firstly, and then Link, Pikachu, and Kirby. If she could get a signature from Kirby, it would make her day.

Walking around behind the stage, the girl knew she had to hurry, no-one was supposed to be around when they swapped stages, and she looked around for Kirby. She spotted him quickly – he stuck out like a round, pink thumb – and she raced over to the gate around the fighter's hang out area. It was open, but she knew she couldn't get in – only brawlers and "authorized persons" were physically able to get in. It was some weird technology she didn't understand.

"Kirby!" she called cheerfully. The puffball looked up, and she noticed his black eye from Meta's last attack, "Can I have your autograph?"

Kirby grinned and waddled over to her, walking through the open gate without a problem.

"Hi-i-iiii!" his familiar catchphrase greeted her, and Natasha grinned back.

"Hi." She held out her autograph book – specially designed by herself for the brawlers. Each page contained a picture of one fighter, and she hoped to eventually get everyone's. "I'm a huge fan, Kirby!" she told him as he looked around for a pen, "You looked really good out there!"

"But," He looked at her sadly, "I lost."

"So what?" Natasha was excited, "Your dodging is amazing! He hardly landed a hit on you… and the way you flew through the air!" Kirby smiled.

"Thanks!" He finally pulled a pen off of some passing guy, and snatched up her book. He opened it to the first page – Pit, and noticed the emptiness.

"No autograph?"

"Not yet," she shrugged, "I'll have everyone eventually." Kirby nodded, flipping through until he came to his page. The picture was of him doing his famous cooking Final Smash.

"Yum." He smiled and looked up at her, "What's your name?"

She couldn't help but giggle as she answered – he was sooo cute! "Natasha."

"Okay," He signed it – without fingers, which was impressive in itself, and handed it back. Natasha read the inscription, breathless. In the top left corner was a short message in messy printing.

_Thanks for the encouragement, Natasha!_ it said, _You're the greatest! Hope to see you at my next brawl! __**Kirby.**_

"Wow, thank you!" She beamed at him, and was about to say more, when the red lights began flashing.

"Stage change!" Kirby hopped away from the fence, taking the girl with him, and they waited as the Smashville stage was swapped for another.

"What now?" Natasha craned her head, not recognizing any sounds.

"Yoshi's Island." Kirby said matter-of-factly, "It's a new one of … well, Yoshi's."

"Oh, cool!"

"You should get going," Kirby nodded towards the bleachers, "The next fight's going to start soon." He grinned, "And I heard it's gonna be Pit."

"Pit?"

"Yup,"

"Oh boy!" Natasha loved watching Pit fight. He was so good-looking, and he always had a smile on his face. He seemed like a nice guy, and she was like his biggest fan, but she had never gotten an autograph due to crazy fangirls. The security guards wouldn't let anyone near him after a match, though he typically tried to sign as many autographs as he could. "Let's hope I can get an autograph this time!"

"I'll put in a good word for you," Kirby told her happily, "Now get going or you'll miss it!"

* * *

She got back to her seat just as the announcer announced the next fight.

"**Thanks for waiting, everyone, it's time for the next match!"** The audience went quiet, and Natasha leaned forward.

"**Firstly"** The man said, pausing between each sentence, **"The popular yellow Pokémon we all know and love… give it up for Pikachu!"** the crowd went crazy as the mouse Pokémon appeared onstage in a bolt of lightning, and Natasha applauded along with the rest of them. Pikachu vs. Pit? This fight was going to be amazing!

"**And facing off against Pikachu… The captain of Palutena's guard, the young angel whose popularity goes up with every victory… here's Pit!"** the crowd went wild again, maybe even more so, as Pit was one of the most popular characters in the roster, and Natasha leaned even more forward, waiting for the angel to appear. But… he didn't. **"Ahem,"** the announcer sounded flustered, **"Here's Pit!" **Still, no-one appeared, and when she looked over to the announcer's booth, she spotted him talking with someone she had seen before. The brawler's doctor…

"**I'm sorry, everyone," **The intercom came back on, **"There has been a slight change in schedule. It seems that… unforeseen circumstances will not allow Pit to make it here today, and so please give it up instead for Marth Lowell, Prince of Altea!" **

Marth appeared on the opposite side of the stage, and Pikachu gave him a funny look.

"Pika?" He stopped, remembering that his translator had been left offstage, and then shrugged, figuring he would get the details later.

"Sorry, Pikachu." Marth told him sincerely, "Pit can't make it, so I'm going to fill in."

The crowd didn't do much cheering, as they were disappointed. They had wanted their hero, and had ended up with a "sissy" prince who few of them liked. Marth appeared to know this as he jumped at Pikachu; his movements were slower than usual, and few connected. Pikachu was creaming him in only a few minutes.

Natasha was upset too, of course, and she was a little worried about Pit, but she figured that she would get to see him some other day. However, this was confusing her. Pikachu didn't look to know where Pit was, but Marth seemed distracted. He was losing quite badly, and the crowd cheered whenever Pikachu's bolts connected. By the end of two minutes, Marth was panting, and covered in burns and scratches from the tiny Pokémon.

"This is why I didn't want to fight you." He said aloud, more to himself than anyone, as Pikachu was the only person who could hear him anyway. The electric mouse paused for a moment.

"Chuu?"

"I'm sorry, Pikachu." Marth adjusted his grip on Falchion, "I'm not focused enough… give me one second." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then charged.

His sword high above his head, the crowd gasped as Marth swung. Pikachu barely jumped out of the way, landing just behind the prince.

"Pikaa." He growled. _It's on now._

Marth swung at him, and Pikachu leapt again out of the way, sending a bolt at him as he came down. Marth ducked behind it, and jumped for him again. They went on like this for a while, until Marth had to pause for a moment on a platform.

Sneakily, Pikachu positioned himself underneath the prince, preparing for a massive bolt of lightning from the cloud he was forming above their heads. The spectators watched with bated breath, no-one speaking up to warn Marth, as they usually did with their favourites, and Pikachu opened its mouth to light the spark.

"Pikaaaa—"

"Marth!" Natasha was on her feet, "Look OUT!"

The prince jumped, turning to face the sound of the shout, and then spotting the dark cloud above his head.

"PikaaaaaCHUUUU!" the bolt just missed Marth as he jumped away, singeing the edge of his cloak. He patted out the sparks and gripped his sword.

"Let's do this."

The next sounds were varied, and the crowd felt drawn into the fight as Marth sliced and Pikachu shocked. Once in a while, a headbutt or a bolt would connect and Marth would go down, only to roll out of the way and counter in a matter of seconds. He even managed to get Pikachu down a few times, though the mouse was faster, and was gone before he could be dealt a finishing blow.

Natasha glanced up at the timer on the screen above. **Marth 178% Pikachu 104%**

Pikachu was winning.

"Come on, Marth, you can do it!" Her friends looked at her funny.

"I thought you liked Pikachu," one of them commented.

"I did!" Natasha said back, "Err, I do! I just… he's losing!"

"Of course he is!" Laughed another friend, "He's a _princess_!"

"A what?" Natasha turned to face them.

"Look at him, Tasha," Her friend pointed, "He's got long blue hair, which he's always playing with, he's skinny, he's losing, and he _wears a tiara_! How much girlier can you get?"

Natasha ignored him, and turned back to the brawl.

Taking a two second rest, Marth looked over at Pikachu. While Marth was covered in burns and bruises, Pikachu was covered in tiny cuts all over his little body. Of course, neither of them felt anything, and there was no blood – all due to the potion both had taken before-hand. After the match, he knew, it would wear off, and that was always fun, but he tried to focus on what was going on right then.

Pikachu looked to be up to something, but Marth had no idea what. Hadn't he already pulled every single trick he had up his sleeve? His brow furrowed as the mouse Pokémon stood there, staring at him, and it grew dark. The prince's eyes widened with realization when Pikachu began to glow, and the creature rose up into the air.

"Oh shoot!" Marth looked around for some place to hide, but Yoshi's Island was an open stage, and a tiny one at that.

This was going to hurt.

Natasha watched, holding her breath, as Pikachu erupted into a massive ball of electricity. Marth's sword was sheathed as the ball flew across the stage, and though he ducked under it and ran around, it caught up with him easily, and his screams as he flew offstage sent a shiver down Natasha's spine. The crowd cheered.

The prince went high up, enough so that he hit the teleporters located out of the crowd's view. He was warped to a small room, where he grabbed up a potion and drank it down. Though it didn't heal all his injuries, it re-energized him, and as he hopped back into the portal, he felt ready to face whatever was coming.

Of course, the second he appeared, he was KO'd again by Pikachu's long-lasting Final Smash, but by the time he came back the second time, he was ready to take him on.

"You're going down, Pika," he said, drawing his sword.

The rest of the fight was uneventful. Marth managed to KO Pikachu once, but he himself was KO'd twice more, and in the end he lost the match badly. Nearer the end, the potion's effects began to wear off, and both brawlers became exhausted as the full brunt of their injuries hit them for the first time.

When the match was over, the audience went wild for Pikachu, but suddenly Natasha didn't care much for one of her favourites. She raced off the bleachers, heading back behind the stage. She found Kirby still there, and he hopped right over to her.

"Hiya." He said, "Sorry about Pit.."

"That's okay," she said in a rush, "Where'd Marth go?"

"Marth?" Kirby looked confused, "Why?"

"Just please! I… need his autograph too!"

"Oh, okay." Kirby nodded, pointing to a small building by the exit, "He's probably in there then."

"Thank you!" Natasha headed, as fast as she could without running, to the small brick building, which looked to be built-in to the stadium walls, as if one could enter there and walk all the way around the inside of the structure.

Two security guards met her at the door.

"Yes?"

"Umm…" she looked up, "Did Marth go in there?"

"What of it?" The bigger one raised his eyebrows, and Natasha swallowed hard,

"I'd… like his autograph?"

"I'm sorry," The shorter one shook his head, "He has been injured, and is in no condition to…"

"Gentlemen?" The door of the building opened, and a young girl stepped out. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Kasey," the men nodded at her, "Nothing major, miss, just a fan."

"A fan hunh?" Kasey smiled at Natasha, "Marth's taking a rest for a moment, but if you're willing to wait I'm sure he'll see you." She leaned down in the younger girl's face, "You were the one cheering for him, yeah?" Natasha nodded, embarrassed.

"Yes."

"Thought so." The older girl straightened up, "He recognized your voice. Just wait out here, alright?"

Natasha nodded again, clutching her autograph book tight, and Kasey went back into the building again.

"Who was that?" She asked the guards when she had left.

"Kasey Tomson," the big one replied, "She's the assistant doctor here."

"Doctor?"

"Yup. We need one of those once in a while, you know, in the _fighting stadium_." The short one laughed, and the bigger one rolled his eyes,

"This stuff isn't as painless as it looks." He told Natasha.

"It looks pretty painful to me." She said slowly.

"Exactly."

She leaned back against the wall beside them, waiting for Kasey or Marth to come back out. She really wasn't sure why she wanted his autograph, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted it at all, or if that was just an excuse to see him. She had been intrigued, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was the fact that nobody was cheering for him, or the cracks her friends had made, or maybe it was just how badly he was beaten, but she felt like she just _had_ to talk to him.

* * *

"Is she still out there?" Marth glanced at the door as Kasey rummaged around in her bag.

"I'm sure she's still out there," she said, pulling out some things and heading back to the cot on which the prince was sitting, "Now focus, would you? I've asked you to take off you shirt three times now!"

"Oh… right." Marth pulled off his cape, and then his tunic, revealing his many electric burns from the fight.

"Ouch," Kasey whistled, "Bet that feels great."

"Actually," Marth shrugged, "I can hardly feel it."

"Oh really?" Kasey began her work, and Marth hardly winced. "And why is that?"

"I don't know," he looked at her, and then down at himself. "It really looks more painful then it feels."

"Well, good." Kasey rubbed a washcloth across his wounds, "It'll feel all the worse in the morning."

"What?"

"Nothing." She continued her work, and soon Marth was all fixed up, though again he hardly noticed the difference.

"How long has it been?" He glanced over at Kasey, "since the fight?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, distracted, "Uhh, half an hour maybe?"

"You think she's still there?"

"Marth." Kasey sighed, "What is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" He looked up from where he was staring – the door. "Nothing's wrong."

"Why are you so obsessed with this girl?"

"I'm not obsessed!" Marth protested, "I'm just… interested."

"Why?"

"…it's none of your business." The prince stood up, pulling away from her outstretched arm, and headed for the door.

"Marth!" Kasey jumped up, but he had left the room before she had a chance to stop him. Sighing to herself, the doctor shook her head and began packing up her things.


	6. Determination

Peach was truly shocked that no-one had spotted her yet. Zelda had come up with the drinks over two hours ago, and though she was still crouched in the shrubs, she was no closer to discovering what was going on between them, and was beginning to wonder why she even cared. Marth had left for a match a while ago, but other than that the most exciting thing that had happened since Zelda's return was when one of Olimar's pikmin wandered onto the roof, and that was hardly worth getting up to see.

In fact, it was still there, where Samus had tossed it, though it had sat up. It was staring at Peach with its big white eyes, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was spying on her same as she was spying on them.

"So… you guys feeling better then?" Samus asked, looking at the two boys in turn. They each nodded, and they were telling the truth.

"Yeah, but I still don't feel great…" Link began, but Samus cut him off.

"Good." She said, "Because I got a note from Joe about an hour ago."

"What?" Falcon and Link spun around to face Samus, and behind the bush Peach tensed. _Joe?_ This had to be it…

"Well done, Samus," Zelda placed her empty pop can on the small garden table, "Just when they start to feel better, you bring it up again."

"Shh, Zelda!" The boys were concentrated solely on Samus' face, and she gave them a weird look,

"Stop that."

They leaned back, tense, and Falcon spoke up,

"You got a note from Joe?" he prompted, "And you didn't mention it until now?"

"Meh," The bounty hunter shrugged, "You would've fallen all over yourselves to go and see the kid."

"See him?" Link was out of his seat, "you mean he's awake?"

"Slow down, fairy boy," Samus kicked him back into his seat lazily, "He's sleeping for sure now, but he did wake up, yes."

"And I missed it?"

"Link," Zelda's voice held the same warning it had when they were all in the waiting room the day before.

"Joe said not to tell you." Samus said, "Any of you."

Peach was angry. She couldn't believe the rotten luck! Here they were, finally talking about what was going around, and they weren't giving any details. However, at this point she figured she knew enough to figure out the rest herself, and so she quietly snuck back to the door, heading down the stairs as quietly as possible and then on to the first floor.

* * *

"_Pit…" _the boy opened his eyes and found himself back in Skyworld lying at the feet of the great Palutena. He leapt to his feet, feeling strangely lighter than usual, and bowed his head at the deity, going back down to one knee. _"Get up," _She said, and her voice sounded different than usual. Pit couldn't remember her ever having said "get up" before.

"Yes'm," he said softly, climbing to his feet and glancing around. He was in the main room of her palace – he had spent a lot of time here before joining the brawlers down on the Earth.

"_Pit…" _Palutena's voice trailed off, and Pit looked at her, worried. Was she feeling alright?

"_You've had an accident." _She said to him, glancing at his wings. Pit instinctively turned to look himself, and he was shocked at what he saw.

His wings were gone.

"W-what?" He looked back to the goddess, "What's happened?" She didn't say anything, but stood there looking at him, shaking her head.

Pit was very confused, what was going on here? "P-Palutena? Ma'am?"

"_I'm sorry Pit,"_ She stood up, and made to leave. Pit, losing himself, went to grab her arm, but he pulled back at the last second, and she turned back to look at him.

"_I relieve you of your duties," _she said, her face emotionless, _"You are no longer bound to be here."_

Pit's heart skipped a beat. What had she just said? He must've been hearing things…

"_Goodbye… Pit," _Around him, the palace began to fade, and a loud banging noise filled the air, like someone pounding on a wall. Pit dove for Palutena in a sudden burst of energy, but was thrown off balance by his wings, or lack thereof, and he fell to the ground. He was unable to do anything as both Palutena and Skyworld vanished, perhaps forever, only to be replaced by the familiar scene of the city. Pit found himself still lying on the ground, in the middle of the sidewalk, and he was getting some pretty odd looks from the people around him. Of course, he was used to such looks – there weren't many winged boys on Earth, but these weren't the same looks as usual; more… worrisome than he was used to. Less amazed.

"Are you alright, young man?" He looked up to see an elderly woman leaning over him, her face looking slightly concerned. He nodded, and quickly got to his feet, sidestepping out of her way and leaning up against a brick wall. He could see the manor from where he was standing, the crowd of people outside as big as ever. If it weren't for the security chips each brawler had, he knew they would never be able to keep other people out of the place.

Pit shifted his position, and the rough wall scraped against his back. He wasn't used to that feeling – his wings didn't let him lean up against things so easily. He decided that the best course of action would be to return to the manor and speak with Joe. If anyone, he would know what had happened…

* * *

"No." The man was unyielding, repeating his answer over and over, making sure she got the message.

"But Joe!" Peach pleaded, "I need to know what's going on! Just let me innnnnn!"

"Nothing is going on, Peach," The doctor looked tired, "There is nothing to worry about."

"Then why can't I come in?" She scowled, "If nothing's wrong why are you blocking the door?"

"You aren't usually allowed in here Peach. The med-bay is off-limits, you know that."

"Well…" Peach was losing her case, "Please, Joe! I'm so worried!"

"Why?"

"W-why…?" Peach hesitated, "Something horrible's happened, I know it!"

"And why do you say this?"

"Woman's intuition," Her voice was firm again, "I overheard Samus on the roof. She mentioned you, and the others jumped all over her." Joe winced; he clearly hadn't been expecting that,

"Look, Peach," he said, his shoulders slumping – he looked more normal now – "I can't tell you anything right now – it's not my place. I'm sorry."

Without another word, he turned and disappeared back into the hallway, leaving Peach behind to stamp her feet.

"That's it!" she growled, "I'm not going to be left out of this any longer!"

* * *

They wouldn't let him into the manor.

Pit couldn't believe it – he had gotten into the lobby, but of course anyone could get into the lobby. It was the elevator and stairs that required a chip. Pit had gotten his implanted the same day as everyone else in the mansion – but when he had tried to enter the elevator, the invisible force field had pushed him back. He tried multiple times, and then tried to go up the stairs, but with the same result. Eventually, they had called security on him, and had kicked him out. The doorman, whom Pit had known for years, didn't even look up when he had called his name.

Something was terribly wrong here.

* * *

**A/N: **_Shortest chapter yet - just finished today, sorry. Next chapter should give a "real" update on Pit, as well as some more Marth/fan stuff...  
(And no, that does not mean romance. X.x )  
Have a nice day!_


	7. Falling Down

"Excuse me!" Pit tapped the man on the shoulder, and when he turned around, the angel recognized him as Samus' manager, Brian. The fat man cleared his throat,

"What do you want boy?" he asked, pressing his lips together, "I'm busy."

"Uhh… can you tell Samus something for me?" The man's eyebrows went up at the mention of his client's name, but he didn't say anything, "Tell her that… Pit's stuck outside. Tell her I don't know what's going on and that…" Pit trailed off, and blinked. He could've sworn the man in front of him had been wearing a black suit, but it had suddenly become white. Rubbing at his eyes, Pit realized that it wasn't only his suit that had gone white, but his skin as well. In fact, everything around them was turning white… _translucent_.

"Hey!" Pit reached for Brian as he faded away, but he grabbed only thin air, and found himself face-first on the hard ground. He moved to sit up, but was interrupted by a loud cracking sound, and he watched with horror as the ground underneath him began to give way. He scrambled to his feet, and jumped, spreading his wings to…

He fell.

* * *

The sudden shout caught them off guard, and Kasey and Joe raced back into the clinic. It didn't sound anything like the night before, but more like an exclamation of surprise. They went towards Pit's room and found him still lying in bed, not having moved at all.

"…Pit?" Kasey whispered softly, pressing a hand to his forehead. He felt normal, he was probably just dreaming. She wondered if she should wake him, but decided to let him be. He needed his rest.

* * *

"Alright, that's IT!" Peach burst through the door, and the four brawlers on the roof jumped, "What is going on here?" Samus, Link, Zelda and Falcon sent her some funny looks.

"What are you talking about?" Link asked, "We're just hanging out on the roof, nothing to – GAHHH!" Peach shoved him off the roof, and the unmistakable sound of his hookshot clattered from below.

"Not again…" Zelda groaned, leaning over the side of the building, trying to locate the hero. Samus and Falcon exchanged a look, and the bounty hunter spoke up,

"What's the problem Peach?" The princess looked angry, and they all knew that she meant business, so Samus didn't waste any time, "What's up?"

"You guys are keeping a secret from me," Peach accused, "From everyone. And you've got Joe in on it too!"

"What?" Zelda looked up from the railing, "You were talking to Joe?"

"I was," Peach nodded, "And he told me he couldn't tell me anything, so I came back here. Now what's going on?"

"Wait a second…" Captain Falcon held up a finger, "Why were you talking to Joe?"

There was a slight pause, in which the brawlers thought about this, and Peach fidgeted. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Samus spoke up.

"I knew that Pikmin was looking at something," She said softly, and immediately, Peach flushed,

"I was just worried!" she said to her defense, "The screaming… and then you all vanished… and…"

"It's okay, Peach," Zelda's eyes were sympathetic, "I understand." Even if she didn't quite agree with Peach's methods, the Hylian princess wasn't about to stand by and let one of her close friends be yelled at by the others. Besides, it really did make sense…

"I just… I want to know what's happening."

Zelda nodded, "Alright." She glanced around at the other brawlers, and then looked back to Peach, "come here."

* * *

"So, you're sure you're okay?" Natasha asked for the umpteenth time as Marth signed her book. She had been as surprised as the security guards when he had come out topless and covered in bandages to talk to her, but he didn't seem to notice the odd glances, and finished off his signature with a flourish.

"I'm fine." He said, handing her back the book. She glanced down, closing it before she forgot what she was going to say. She could look at it later. "Why do you keep asking?"

"Well…" She trailed off after only one word; she didn't want to mention his defeat.

"I'm fine," he said again, smiling at her, and she had to believe it, or at least act like she did.

"If you say so."

* * *

"His… wing?" Peach's face was pale, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You mean it actually…?" Zelda shook her head,

"I haven't seen him yet," she said, "But Falcon was there, and Link's been in to see him since he got here…"

"So then," Peach was trying to figure things out, "The screams last night…"

"We don't actually know what happened there," Link intercepted, still panting from his second climb up the tall building, "Joe and Kasey won't tell us."

"But we do know it was Pit," Falcon added.

"Wow…" Peach was at a loss of words. This really was worse than she had been expecting. It was no wonder they didn't want people to know about it – they wouldn't even have told _her_ had Zelda not insisted. It was a scary thing. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We don't know." Link's voice was grim, and he swallowed, "He'll live, yes, but it won't be easy for him."

"But in the meantime," Samus jumped in before another word could be said, "there is nothing we can do. Absolutely nothing. And so," she glanced meaningfully at Link, "We'll have to be strong enough for Pit. When we _do_ get to see him, we don't want to be upset, or guilt-ridden."

"That'll only make it all the worse," Zelda nodded, agreeing, "Samus is right, cheer up guys."

"But-" Link was cut off again by the bounty hunter,

"How is this going to help Pit?"

"Uhhh…"

"You want me to throw you off the roof again?"

"Okay, okay!" Link stood up, "I'm feeling much better!"

"Good." Samus smirked, "Now… who's hungry?"

* * *

"I'm sorry that Pit couldn't make the fight today," Marth and Natasha were still standing outside of the small building in the stadium, talking as they had been for the last hour. Natasha had accidentally brought up her favourite brawler, and was beating herself for it mentally – how could she be so insensitive? They had just practically booed him off the stage because of Pit, and here she was bringing him up.

"No, I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Well why not?" Marth blinked, "Everybody's got a favourite fighter."

"Mmmm, I guess, but still. It was rude of me to say it like that."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled down at her, and she found herself smiling back,

"Well in that case…" she took a deep breath, "What happened to Pit anyway?" Marth tensed up, and Natasha sensed that she had hit a sore spot. _Was it that bad?_

"He… uhh…" Marth wouldn't look at her, "He sorta got into a fight. Before the fight. His manager wouldn't let him into this one unless he let the doctor check him out," The gears were turning, "But Pit's a bit stubborn, so… he wasn't allowed to come." Natasha looked at him for a moment, before shaking her head,

"You're lying."

"I'm… no I'm not!"

"You have to be."

"How'd you-"

"Simple - that's the stupidest story I've ever heard."

"Was it?" Marth shook his head, "I didn't think it was _that_ bad…"

"It was."

"Well…"

"Look," Natasha crossed her arms, "If you can't tell me, then just tell me that! I can respect that you guys wanna keep secrets… even if I _really_ wanna know."

"…Which you do."

"Well _duh_!"

Marth shook his head, "In that case, I'm afraid that I _can't_ tell you why Pit wasn't here today. It's not my place to share things about him without his permission. Sorry."

Natasha just shrugged, but Marth could tell she was unhappy with his response.

"Alright, it's cool."

* * *

**A/N:**_Another short one. ): _

_I'm real sorry about this, but I've been so busy lately, and I don't want to miss my self-appointed deadline (every Tuesday), and so the chapters might be a bit shorter for a while…_

_So, anyhow, this chapter I guess gave you a bit of a look into what's going on with Marth and Tasha, as well as Peach and the gang. I'd like to ask people's opinion on this – the chapter and the story itself – as I'm not too sure how well it's going at the moment. Are you still interested? Is it progressing too slow? I can't really tell, so… let me know? Thanks._

_Next chapter takes place a week later, due to the realization that chapters one to seven all took place within a day and a half. T-T My bad. __Also, there won't be so many divder-line things. The whole scene-switching thing is beginning to bug me, and I've only just noticed how often I'm doing it. From now on, chapters will take place mainly in the same setting. More can be accomplished, and it'll be less confusing. So… yeah._

_R&R!_


	8. Revelations

_And so, after my long self-crit speech thingy last time, I am back. ;)  
Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed with ideas and suggestions – it really helps a lot! And, as promised, this chapter takes place later than the others, but instead of a week later, it takes place only a few days after the accident, due to my lack of considering things… anyhow._

_This chapter – also as promised – focuses mainly on one "scene", that of Pit, Link, doctors, and drama. ^^' Lemme know if it's progressing better?_

_Thanks to Eggplantwitch, Ze Dybbkk, Lilsis, petels-the-shaymin, and anon for the tips! R&R!_

* * *

"I still don't get how you managed to keep it from him for this long." Link was incredulous, and across from him, Kasey shrugged,

"It wasn't too hard," she admitted, "We've had him under our supervision 24/7 ever since the accident, so…"

"But _four days_?" Link found this a little shocking regardless, "Why on earth would you keep his own condition from him? That's just… weird."

"Weird?" Kasey laughed, "If you ask me, this whole thing is a little weird."

Looking around them, Link couldn't help but agree. This _was _weird.

It was early morning – very early – and the hero had actually been asleep when Kasey had rapped on his door. He had stumbled to out of bed half-awake, and had nearly stopped breathing when he had seen the doctor.

"What's wrong?" the first words that left his mouth. Kasey had been quick to assure him that there was no real problem – only wanted to talk - though she insisted he get dressed before she came in, much to his embarrassment.

Now, it was still early morning, but Link was ready for the day, wide-awake and sitting cross legged on his bed, across from the young doctor.

"Yeah, I guess it is…" He said in response to her "weird" comment. "But that's not why you wanted to talk to me."

"No, it's not." She confirmed, and Link sighed. It was too early in the morning for this – he didn't like mornings, much less early mornings, and wanted to get this out of the way and get a cup of coffee or something. He had been assured that this didn't involve Pit, and so was pretty laidback about whatever it was.

"Well then…?" He waited for her to complete the thought,

"It's about Pit."

"Of course it is." Link leaned forward, "Nothing serious, right? I mean–"

"He's asleep right now, but when he wakes up, we're going to tell him what happened. All of it."

"Oh really?" Link nodded, "Well good; it's about time someone told the guy what's going on. If I had known you'd been hiding it from him, I'd–"

"Don't care." Kasey dismissed him quickly and easily, "The point here is that I think you should be with him when he finds out. He's not likely to be in a good place – he's been pretty… out of it, shall we say, since the accident happened, and–"

"You drugged him full of pain meds, Kase," Link cut in, feeling both indignant for being ignored, and unhappy about his friend's forced ignorance, "It's not the same thing."

"We had no choice, Link," Kasey argued, "He would've been in too much pain if we hadn't – you saw his wing!"

"Well you could've told him at least!"

"That would've made it worse! I only…" Kasey trailed off, and wiped at her eyes. Only then did Link think he might have upset her. "Will you just come with me so you'll be there when he wakes up? I don't want him to be alone when he hears this."

"Of course."

Kasey got up off of the bed, and rubbed at her long sleeves.

"It's cold in here," she murmured, more to herself than anyone, and she headed for the door.

* * *

"So when's he supposed to wake up?" Link leaned back in the chair, looking over at his friend, sleeping like a baby under the covers. The number of tubes and wires around him had decreased from the last time Link had been in to see him, but they were still quite numerous, and gave the hero cause to worry.

"Soon enough." Joe looked up from his computer across the room, "be patient."

"Sheesh Link, you're worse than Marth!" Kasey laughed, "You've battled monsters, demons and sorcerers alike, but the fact of facing your best friend awake has got you white as a sheet; clam down!"

Somehow, this didn't help to calm Link's nerves, and he found himself all the more nervous from her evaluation. However, contrary to the expected, all nervousness left him when the angel began to stir.

"Nnnnn…" Pit groaned softly as he shifted his position in the bed. Kasey was at Link's side in an instant,

"He's still on pain meds," she told him, "But it's not quite so… heavy. He'll be himself now."

She remained beside him as Pit woke, watching, but not doing or saying anything else.

"L…Link?" Pit blinked his eyes, "Link? …that you?" Link felt a smile touch his lips, though it didn't feel sincere,

"I'm right here Pit," he reached out and squeezed the boys hand gently – his good one.

It took a few minutes for the angel to wake fully, but as soon as he did he was full of questions.

"What are you doing here, Link?" His eyes were earnest and weak all at once, and Link didn't know what to say,

"I… came to see you buddy," he suddenly felt weak himself, but didn't let it show.

"Came to see me…" Pit repeated his words, "Oh."

"Pit," Kasey cut in, sitting down on the edge of his bed, "I have to talk to you." Both boys turned their gazes to the young doctor. Suddenly Joe was standing behind her.

"You don't remember what happened do you Pit?" His voice was serious, but sympathetic, and Pit shook his head,

"I already told you that," he said slowly, "All I remember is going to the race with Marth, and then… this." He glanced around the room, moving slightly to get it all in. "Ow…"

"Are you alright?" Link jumped up, worried.

"I'm … fine, man," Pit smiled at him weakly, then turned back to Joe, "You were saying?"

"Well," Joe said, "I think it's only fair that you know what happened out there."

"We were going to wait for you to recover," Kasey added in, "But…"

"But…?" Pit blinked, "But what?"

"It's going to take longer than we had thought initially." Joe finished the thought.

"So…" the boy took a deep breath, "What happened?" Both doctors glanced at Link, and then at each other, before Kasey spoke up,

"There was… an accident."

The doctors proceeded to tell Pit the entire story of what had happened four days ago, pieced together from what they had been told by Marth and Falcon days earlier. Link watched his friend's face the entire time, watching for some sort of reaction, but none came.

"Is that it?" Pit asked when they were done, and the three exchanged another look,

"Is that it?" Joe asked, "Well… yes, I suppose so."

"Okay." Pit took a deep breath, "So can I look now?"

All three were surprised at how he had taken this news so far – they had told him of the condition of his right wing and arm, and the amount of blood he had lost, but none of this seemed to bother him much. Maybe he didn't get it?

"Yes," Joe said after a moment, "You can look now."

Link watched with bated breath as Pit's left arm came out from under the covers, reaching to his right to lift the covers from his body. Kasey and Joe took this as their cue, and left the bedside, heading back to the monitors on the other side of the room.

Link rose from his chair, leaning forward and helping Pit to remove the blankets from himself. The angel stared at the ceiling for a good minute or two before he risked a look at the hero,

"Is it really that bad?" he asked weakly. Link swallowed hard, and nodded,

"It's not good," he said truthfully, "But it'll be okay, don't worry."

"Promise?" Pit's voice cracked, and looking down at him, Link was reminded for the first time of how young his friend really was. In human terms, Pit was a little more than a child, somewhere in his mid-teens perhaps. And at that moment, lying in a hospital bed pale and afraid, Pit looked like the smallest, most helpless child Link had ever seen. He was holding back tears as he responded,

"Promise."

With those words his comfort, Pit turned to look.

Link couldn't see his face at first; he was now facing away from him, but he heard the strangled gasp as Pit saw what was left of his wing. The boy moved to sit up, and instead of pushing him down, Link moved to help him, supporting him so he wouldn't have to lean too heavily on his right side. The hero then came around to the other side of the bed.

"…Pit?"

The young angel's face was pale, more so than usual, and his eyes had filled up with tears. His mouth was shut tightly, he was biting his lip to keep from crying, it seemed.

"My… my wing…" He tore his eyes away from the sight, looking up into Link's, "It's… gone… completely gone…" His voice sounded strange, hollow almost.

"It'll be okay, Pit," Link's own voice sounded funny to his ears, "It'll be okay." He didn't know what to do, he only wished he could take it all away, protect him from everything, forever. But he knew that was impossible, and he also knew that he would do whatever he could to help his friend, no matter the cost, for the rest of his life. He took a deep breath, ready.

Suddenly, Pit was on top of him, and the hero nearly fell back trying to support his weight. He leaned forward instead, putting an arm around the boy's shoulder for comfort. There were tears streaming out of Pit's eyes now, and they were screwed shut as his arms wrapped around Link's neck, holding tight as though he would never let go.

"It's gone…" the boy whispered again, "gone…"

"I'm here, Pit," Link said softly, "I'm here, it's okay,"

He had no idea how long they stayed like that – Link holding the boy in his arms and Pit crying silently into his shoulder, but after a while they were separated by Joe's firm but gentle hands, and Pit was given more meds to put him to sleep.

"He needs his rest," Kasey told the Hylian softly, "He'll be fine."

"Just…" Link agreed with her, but he felt wrong about leaving his friend in such a vulnerable state, "Call me when you think he's going to wake up, alright?"

"Of course."

With one last look at the sleeping angel, Link turned and left the room. He snuck through the halls, and up the stairs, making for the roof.

He needed some alone time...


	9. Setup

**A/N: **_I call this one - filler chapter. It's been too long since I last updated this, and this here sets up the rest of the story, whether it eems important or not... :/ _

_Anyway, thanks muchly for your patience... here's chapter 9! (:_

* * *

"Unnnnnhhh…" Pit squeezed his eyes shut, starting to wake but not wanting to. Across the room, Kasey glanced up, and she quickly left the room to find the Hylian hero, leaving the boy alone.

Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, trying to forget everything he had heard and learnt the day before. He still had no memory of the events leading up to his accident, or quite a bit of what followed, but he knew one thing with utmost certainty:

His wing was gone.

He held back a groan as he forced himself to sit up, leaning heavily back against the pillows. Surprisingly enough, he didn't feel much pain from the injury – angel wings were incredibly sensitive, to the slightest touch, but were quite sturdy underneath the feathers. He was nearly positive that they had given him heavy medication to make sure that he felt no pain, but his mind didn't seem clouded at all, and wasn't that supposed to happen when one was drugged? Pit didn't really know much about medicine.

The only thing that was hurting him was his right arm. The same side as his wing, Joe had told him that it too was damaged in the accident, though he hadn't elaborated on the extent of the damage, and Pit hadn't yet been able to see it himself. They hadn't kept it hidden from him like they had his wing – it had just been too heavily bandaged for him to look at yet. In fact, thinking about it, the youth wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to look at it.

The door swung open gently, cutting into Pit's train of thought as his best friend entered the room. There were dark circles under the hero's eyes – he didn't look like he had slept all night – and his tunic was faded and wrinkled.

"Let me guess," Pit spoke up before Link had a chance, and both were surprised at the clearness in his voice, "You sat up on the roof all night, and all morning."

Link walked over to his bedside, sinking into the chair he had used the night before, "You got me." Kasey slipped back into the room as well, heading to her laptop in the far corner.

"Oh, Link," Pit shook his head, "What am I going to do with you?"

Link looked up at his friend, genuinely shocked at how he was acting. Just a night earlier he had been terrified and in tears over his terrible discovery, and now he was acting like nothing was wrong? Was this how the recovery process was supposed to work? One glance at Kasey's face told him the answer, and he replied cautiously,

"How are you feeling today, Pit?"

"I dunno." The angel shrugged, "That doesn't matter. What did _you_ do on the roof last night?"

_Changing the subject_, Link noted with a frown. He decided he would go with it… for now.

"Nothing much." He said, truthfully. "Some of the gang came up and we just kinda hung out." He didn't mention what they had been doing exactly – they had been lamenting over Pit – but it was a mostly truthful statement.

"The gang?"

"Y'know, me, Zel, Marth, Falcon, Peach, Samus… the gang."

"Oh."

There was silence for a moment, and Pit seemed to be thinking about something very hard. Link wondered what it was, but said nothing, waiting for the boy to find the words he wanted.

"….why haven't _they_ come to see me Link?" He said after what seemed like forever. "You've been here a lot, but… nobody else has." He paused for a moment, shaking his head, "Then again, why would they be? I mean… none of them really like me anyhow do they?" Link was taken aback,

"Like you?" he repeated, "Of course they-!" He stopped himself a moment, thinking. It wasn't entirely true to say that everyone in the manor liked the young angel. Thinking about it now, Link wasn't sure it would be entirely true to tell him that everyone in their "gang" even liked him.

_Let's see…_ Link quickly ran through everyone in his mind._ Marth has never liked him, until he started guilt-tripping himself, which isn't really the same thing… Peach thinks he's an annoying little prankster… Zelda thinks he needs to grow up… Samus has always hated him… Falcon kinda likes him I guess… so there's that._ He nodded to himself, looking up at Pit again. The boy was smiling at him sadly,

"You know I'm right."

Link didn't know what to say to this, "Pit…" He shook his head, "Everyone's really worried about you – honest!"

"Then why-"

"That'd be my fault really." Both boys looked over to where Kasey sat in the back of the room, "Joe and I haven't let anyone in the room since your accident. We only let Link in here because he begged us to."

Pit almost smiled at the image, hardly able to picture Link begging for anything, "Why though?"

"Why what?" Kasey punched a few buttons into her laptop, listening,

"Why wouldn't you let anyone in to see me?" Pit went on, "I mean… if they _really _wanted to check on me, you could've just let them in like Link, couldn't you?"

"Not exactly." Kasey bit her bottom lip, eyebrows creased, "You weren't really in the best shape before now, Pit. It wouldn't have been a great idea to let anyone see you like… like that."

"What do you mean?" Pit was confused, but Kasey hesitated.

"You had to be left alone," she finished lamely, turning back to her laptop and finishing the conversation before it had began. Though slightly disgruntled, Pit decided to leave it alone and move on to other topics, not wanting to discuss his problem any more than he had to. Link, however, knew what Kasey was talking about. Whatever it was that had happened on the night of the accident… the screaming… the hero shuddered to remember it, and Pit glanced over at him,

"Are you okay, Link?"

The Hylian nodded quickly, "I'm fine, sorry. It's just cold in here." He forced a smile and Kasey shot him a glance.

_Nice recovery,_ it said, _don't talk about it_.

"Hey, Kase!" A sudden idea popped into Link's head, "How long do you think it'll be before Pit can get out of bed?"

"Hmmm…" Kasey though about it for a moment, "I don't know," she said, "It depends on Pit. My best guess would be fairly soon, so long as he gets his rest and stays healthy. Why?"

"I'm thinking…" Link squinted at his friend for a moment, "We should all do something when you get be- out. When you get out." He had been about to say 'better' but wasn't sure if it was the appropriate word. Pit didn't seem to notice the correction, and his blue eyes lit up,

"We can have a party!" He grinned, "Can we, Kasey? Pleeeeease?" He turned to face the doctor-in-training, and she laughed,

"I'd have to talk to Joe, but I don't see why not."

"Yes!" Pit pumped his fist in the air, for a moment forgetting his injury entirely, but remembering it when a jolt of pain shot its way up his arm and back. "Unnnh…" he squeezed his eyes shut – not only had he just exerted his injured arm, but he moved his whole torso while doing so and so felt the ache all over.

"That was dumb." he said softly, and Link gently pushed him back onto the bed,

"Get some rest, you dork," he smiled at his friend, "I'll talk to everyone else about having some sort of celebration, okay?"

"Yup!" Pit smiled at the older boy, "I'll be better in no time, and then everything can go back to normal." His voice was cheery, but both of them could hear the strain behind the words. Normal… would things ever be back to normal?

Link wondered over this as he left the room, nodding at Kasey to update him later. He didn't really know much about angels; but he was pretty sure they didn't have regenerative powers. Supposedly they were immortal, but Link had never known if that were true of Pit or not. Either way, however, he was almost certain that Pit would never be back to 'normal'. Even if his arm healed eventually, his wing wouldn't grow back and he would never again be the same.

Taking a deep breath, Link found the stairs to the roof, and headed up, hoping the "gang" would be waiting for him.

* * *

"A party?" Samus raised an eyebrow, "You think we should throw a _party_?"

Link paused, "Wellll, not a _party_ exactly… you're right, it's dumb."

"No, I think it's a good idea," Zelda cut in, smiling at Link and throwing the bounty hunter a look, "It could be just what Pit needs."

"If you ask me," Samus made a face, "Pit needs to grow up. Then maybe he'd have more friends."

"Samus!" Marth looked over at her in shock, "How can you say such a thing? That's terrible!"

"Meh," Samus shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just a terrible person."

"No you're not," Peach scowled, "You're just incredibly insensitive. And mean."

"Guys, please!" Link held up a hand, cutting everyone off, "We don't need to fight!"

"Link's right," Zelda glared in Samus' direction, "We need to think about this a little longer, but I think it would be really nice for him. Just to show him that we care, hmm?"

"Exactly!" Link nodded, "He thinks you guys all hate him, and-"

"Wonder why he'd think that?" Samus muttered under her breath.

Link ignored her, "_and_ it'd be great if we could all get together and celebrate when he gets better!"

"I suppose it could be fun…" Marth sounded a little cynical, but Peach was all for it.

"Let's do it!" She jumped to her feet, "We can invite everybody, and I can make a giant cake and we can decorate the manor, and-"

"Whoa, slow down sister!" Samus held up a hand, "We don't even know if we've got management's permission to do this yet, remember?"

"Oh, management-schmanagement," Peach rolled her eyes, "It's gonna be great!"

"In that case," Link rose from his chair, heading for the door off the roof, "I suppose I'll go talk to Joe." He left the garden, leaving his friends behind to plan for the days ahead.


	10. The Blame Game

_**Author's Note: **Oh wow- has it really been that long? Gee, I'm so awful. :P I'm sorry this one took forever - I've not thought about it since... well, since I posted the last one! _

_Don't worry though, you're not getting rid of me just yet! Even if it's slow going - this story WILL be finished! The next chapter (just so ya know) is what could perhaps be called the "climax chapter", but there are probably gonna be a lot more after it, so... maybe not. Whatever - enjoy chapter ten!_

* * *

"A party?" Mario nodded his head thoughtfully, "That could be fun…"

"It would be a great way to cheer the kid up, that's for sure." Beside him, Sonic too was mulling over the idea, "I like it."

"Do you?" Peach grinned at them; so far everyone she had asked had agreed to help out with the preparations – after Link had gotten Joe's assent, she had been telling everyone in the manor about their plans, and had yet to be rejected. "So you guys'll help?"

"Count me in," Sonic winked, and Mario smiled, "Me too."

"Oh, thank you!" Peach squealed, barely resisting the urge to give them both bear hugs. She still had far too many people to invite to the party, which was going to be a rather big thing if her plans went well.

Mario and Sonic watched as the princess scampered off, checking their names off the list in her hand.

"So… what exactly do _you_ know about the situation?" Sonic glanced over at the plumber curiously, "'Cuz I don't know a thing."

"Welll…" Mario frowned, "I don't know much myself – only what Peach has told me, and it's been vague. There was an accident of some sort."

"I knew that much." Sonic said, "They've kept it all pretty exclusive, haven't they? I mean, only the group of 'em know the whole story."

"Guess they were involved in it."

"And Peach honestly hasn't told you a thing?"

"Nothing I'm repeating."

"…really?" Sonic was a little shocked at the sudden change, but Mario just shrugged,

"Really, I don't know anything past what Peach ranted to me the other night – and little of it made any sense – but what I did catch I'm not gonna share… sorry bud."

"Aw, that's fine," said Sonic in a tone that clearly implied he was unhappy, "I understand."

"Thanks, Sonic." Mario smiled sincerely at his friend and rival, and the hedgehog couldn't help but return the smile.

"Now… what say I kick your butt in Smash Bros?"

Mario jumped onto the sofa, "In your dreams, spiky -head!"

* * *

Prince Marth walked through the den, lost in thought, and didn't realize he had walked in front of the TV screen until Sonic's angry shout informed him,

"Man – that one didn't count! He walked in front of me!"

Mario smirked, "All's fair in love, war, and Brawl, my friend."

"Oh, so _that's _how you wanna play, hunh?" Sonic dove into the game with rejuvenated vigor, and Marth left the room.

He had a mission, and he was determined to achieve it. He had spent the last twenty minutes in his room working up the courage to do this, and now that he was heading there… he didn't know if he was ready yet. He decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator – it would give him more time to think, and as he descended them slowly, he found himself thinking about the party Peach was planning.

She wanted it to be a splendid affair – and the others seemed excited about it, though no-one else had quite her level of zest. Marth still wasn't sure what he thought of the idea, but he knew that he wouldn't be going. Why would they want him there anyhow? It was his fault that Pit was in the infirmary in the first place – he wouldn't be welcome at a recovery celebration. The prince never wanted to look at the angel's face ever again… he would never forgive himself.

So why was he standing at the clinic door?

"Forget it," he told himself in a quiet voice, "You wouldn't be allowed inside anyway." And yet, he didn't move. He had made himself walk the entire way to the clinic, prepared to ask to see Pit, but he couldn't bring himself to knock on the door. "Forget it." He said again, taking a step back. About to turn around completely and give up on the idea, Marth was shocked when the door opened on its own, and Kasey came out, singing to herself. She stopped suddenly when she noticed the blue-haired youth staring at her, and she smiled,

"Hey, Marth – what's up?" Her laptop – as always – was balanced in her arms as she looked him over. The prince took a deep breath – this was it.

"Can… can I see him?"

Kasey blinked, "What?"

"Can I see Pit?" Marth took another deep breath, "I… I want to talk to him."

"Hmmmm…" Kasey mulled it over a moment, frowning with concentration, "I dunno, man. Lemme ask Joe, okay?" She disappeared back into the hallway, and Marth leaned up against the wall to wait for her. Being entirely honest with himself, the prince wasn't sure if he wanted her to say yes or no to his request. He truly did want to see Pit, but he was nervous about what he would say, and…

"You can go in," Kasey's voice cut into his thoughts, and he looked up again to find her standing in front of him, "Just be… careful, okay?"

"Of course." Marth braced himself, walking past the doctor and into the hallway which lead to the angel's room. _I can do this._

He was surprised to find Pit out of bed when he walked in. Well… sort of.

The young angel was sitting shirtless on his bed, with a blanket draped across his shoulders and his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. He had a magazine in his hands, but he didn't look too interested in it, and he looked up when Marth entered the room.

"Hey Lin- oh." Pit blinked a few times, pulling the blanket closer around himself. He smiled shyly, "Hi Marth."

"Uhh… hey." The prince returned the greeting, his heart speeding noticeably.

Pit nodded towards a chair by the bed, and Marth took a seat quickly.

"What's up?" Pit's voice sounded casual enough, but Marth wasn't fooled for a second. The angel's face was pale; though it looked much better than the last time he had seen him. Marth could see a tube of some sort snaking its way under the blanket, and there was a machine mounted on the wall, but there was nothing beyond that. Link had told him earlier that they had taken Pit off of most of the equipment, so that was a good sign… right?

"…Marth?" The prince snapped back to reality to find Pit watching him earnestly, "Are you all right there?"

"What?" Marth blinked a few times, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Sorry." He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous as to what he had to say. "I… I just came to… apologize."

There was a moment of stunned silence. "…apologize?" Pit cocked his head to one side, "What for?"

"Well…" Marth looked up from the floor where he was staring, and couldn't help it when his eyes wandered to the boy's back. The blanket he had wrapped firmly around him hid both his injured wing _and_ arm, but Marth could guess well enough the condition of both. He had already seen it.

"For what happened to you." He finally managed to blurt it out, and he leaned forward, breaking eye contact entirely. "It was completely my fault! I… I called out, and distracted you – you weren't in any trouble until you turned around to face me and I–"

"Marth." Pit cut him off before things had a chance to get out of hand, and the prince looked up.

"W…what?"

"It wasn't your fault," Pit's voice was soft, and Marth was astonished to see his eyes glistening, "What happened… it was an accident, that was all. It's no more your fault than it is mine or the driver's."

"That's not true!" Marth shook his head, his voice rising, "I… I thought I'd _killed_ you! You were so pale, and there was blood everywhere, and you–"

"Marth!" Pit nearly shouted the second time, his eyes wide at the thought of what his friend was going to say next, "Stop! Stop it!"

Marth froze – he had already messed everything up.

"It's…" Pit swallowed hard, looking off to the side so as to avoid Marth's eyes, "It's not your fault, Marth, it's not! It would've happened anyway – I was in the middle of the track, wasn't I? I practically…" he paused, "I practically asked for this!"

"What?" Marth rose from his chair, "Don't _say_ that, Pit! That's not true at all!" He was horrified at what he had just heard, at what he had just done… this wasn't how it had gone in his head at all. "_I_ did this to you – _I'm_ the one who should take the blame – _I'm _the one who should've gotten hurt!" Marth could feel tears in his own eyes now, but he blinked them away angrily, "I'll never be able to forgive myself for what I did to you – it would have been better if I–"

"SHUT UP!" Pit yelled suddenly, startling Marth into silence. He jumped up from his bed, "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

Marth stared at the angel in unconcealed horror. Pit's eyes were screwed shut, and his fists were clenched, but that wasn't what had caught Marth's attention. Upon standing, Pit had unintentionally cast the blanket to the ground, revealing himself and his injuries in their entirety.

Marth gawked as he saw for the first time what Pit had been so carefully trying to hide. His right hand was swathed in bandages, but they were tight enough for Marth to see that a considerable amount was damaged. It looked as though he was missing parts of some fingers, and the rest seemed to be badly torn up. His right wing fanned out behind him while his left one stayed folded up against his back. It flopped uselessly there, and Marth could see the bare bone of it flashing from between the bandages. A horrible scar worked its way up his back near his shoulder, joined by many smaller marks and cuts which must have come from the trip across the racetrack.

_I never thought…_ Marth hadn't realized how truly badly Pit had been injured, and he felt himself go pale as the angel suddenly turned to face him. Pit's look of hurt and anger vanished the second he noticed Marth's expression, and he realized too late what he had done. Instantly the angel's face went red, and he grabbed for the blanket, wrapping it around his shoulders again before dumping himself unceremoniously onto the bed. He buried his head in the pillows, and it took Marth a moment to recompose himself.

"…Pit?" The prince stepped towards the bed, careful not to raise his voice too loud, "Are you–"

"Just go away, Marth," Pit's voice was muffled by the pillow, but his words came through loud and clear. "Please, just go."

Marth hesitated a moment, wanting to say more but unable to make himself do so. He settled instead for doing as his friend asked, and he backed out of the room slowly. He closed the door behind him, feeling suddenly numb, and turned around to find Kasey staring him down.

"How'd it go?" She asked cheerily – having clearly just arrived. Marth took a shaky breath.

"Great," he said, hearing the obvious strain in his voice, "I probably traumatized him for life, and I'll bet he wants to kill himself now. Couldn't have gone better."

Kasey raised an eyebrow at this, smirking for a moment until she realized he was serious. A moment later, Marth found himself being pushed towards the exit, and he watched as Kasey raced into Pit's room, greatly concerned.

_She'll take better care of him than I ever could._ Marth told himself, leaving the clinic without another thought. He made his way through the hallway, amazing himself in that he hadn't yet started screaming or crying. It was bound to happen soon, he knew – keeping his emotions bottled up like this wasn't something Marth did very well. After wandering the halls aimlessly for a little while, the Altean prince made his way up to the roof, surprised to find that none of his friends were up there. He wasn't really sure if he had wanted them to be there or not.

He stood on the roof, leaning against the guardrails with a mournful look in his eyes. He stared down at the hard ground far below him, wondering if anyone would miss him if he jumped. _Probably not_, he told himself.

And that was where Zelda found him, two hours later when she came up for reasons of her own. She had heard Kasey and Joe discussing what had happened, and had hoped to give Marth some comforting words of some sort – help him out a bit if she could. It seemed, however, that the courtesy was unneeded. The moment she set foot on the roof, Marth was in her arms, bursting instantly into tears and going on about what had happened.

Zelda lead him carefully to the sun chairs near the roof's south end, keeping her hand in his in case he needed it. _I'll stay up here all day, if that's what it takes._

And so they did.


	11. Confidants

_**Author's Note**__ – Okay, okay, I lied. This isn't actually the "climax chapter" I mentioned last time. That'll be next chapter I guess. This was supposed to be it, but I ran into a few loose ends and stuff that needed to be tied, and it turned into this behemoth. It's pretty long, but most of it is relevant…_

_Anyhoo – thanks to EggplantWitch for your review, it showed me that someone is still interested in this! ;) Thanks for sticking with me so long!_

_So, here it is – chapter 11!_

* * *

**The next day.**

"Okay, so here's the plan!" Peach had everyone in the entire manor – only a few members missing – gathered around her in the main sitting room, where the party was supposed to take place later that day. "We're not supposed to yell surprise or anything – Joe said that was a bad idea – and we aren't going to hide and jump out either." She sounded kind of disappointed about it, but she moved on quickly, "We've got almost all the party decorations set up already thanks to Jigglypuff and Nana." She smiled at the girls, who smiled back, and then continued her speech.

"All we need is someone to blow up balloons – Kirby was going to, but he's baking now – and then we should be all set!

"This party is going to be fantastic, guys! I just hope that Pit has a good time… Link was in his room telling him about it earlier this morning, so he's ready on time. Ooh, this is going to be great!" She giggled, giving a tight hug to the person nearest her – who turned out to be Luigi.

"Hey, bro, back off," Mario said jokingly as his brother's face went red, "That's _my_ girl."

"Sorry, Mario," Peach winked at him, giving him a light kiss on the nose before prancing away to the kitchen to see how Kirby was doing.

"So," Mario turned to the group still standing around the room, "Who's up for some balloons?"

* * *

"I didn't mean to yell at him…" Pit stared at the ground, his face void of all expression as Kasey watched him closely, "I just… I don't know. I wasn't actually angry at him – I just didn't want to hear it anymore, and then he… he _saw_ me." The angel's voice dropped, and he swallowed hard as the previous day's events came back to him. "I should apologize to him, I guess, but I don't think he'd take that so well…"

"Probably not at this point," Kasey said honestly, "Although I think he's been talking with Zelda, so maybe something's changed… but he was wrong to come in here like he did in the first place."

"You think so?" Pit raised an eyebrow, "I thought it was nice of him. Even though he was wrong, I mean, it was nice to see that he actually cared about me."

"Of course he–"

"Marth has always hated me Kasey."

The doctor sighed. "…I know."

There was a moment of silence then, broken only when the two burst into laughter. Really, there was nothing funny about the situation, but it was better than moping about it, right?

"Kasey?" When they were done, Pit looked up to meet his friend's eyes, "Link told me about the party tonight… do I really have to go?"

"What?" Kasey blinked, "Don't you want to?"

"Not really…" Pit paused, "I'm not sure. I mean, it's a nice idea but…" _I don't want anyone to see me._ He trailed off, but the implication was made, and Kasey looked at him sadly.

"Oh Pit," she sat down on the edge of his bed beside him, not knowing what to say.

"I know, I know," Pit wouldn't meet her eyes, "But it's so awkward… I…"

"It's okay, Pit," Kasey gently placed a hand on his good arm, "You don't have to explain yourself. I understand."

There was another moment of silence before he spoke up, "I'm sorry, Kasey." A pause, "Of course I'll go to the party."

"Okay," Kasey smiled softly at the boy, "Sounds like a plan."

"Yeah… hey, do you think you could ask Link to come in here? I want to ask him something."

"Oh, sure." Kasey rose to her feet, giving him one last careful look before silently exiting the room, leaving Pit alone once more with his thoughts.

* * *

Marth had been in his room all day. Ever since she had sent him to bed last evening, Zelda hadn't seen him. She had done a bit of asking around, and it seemed that nobody had seen him at all, so the only logical assumption was that he was still in bed.

Of course, this wasn't much of a shock to Zelda – he had worked himself into quite a state yesterday, and he was clearly over-tired. It was for the best that he was getting extra sleep. She stepped over a growing pile of balloons in the hallway on her way up to the prince's room. She wondered if he was feeling any better today, and couldn't help it when her mind wandered back to the day before on the roof…

_Marth had been talking to her for nearly an hour now, Zelda realized, and she had yet to get a single word in. She didn't even know what it was he was going on about – most everything he said was unintelligible, but she knew there was a problem. It wasn't very often that she saw people break down like this – in fact, this may have been the first time._

"_I am a terrible person," She looked up suddenly, snapped out of her thoughts by a coherent sentence. Marth, she noticed, had ceased his sobbing – perhaps a while ago – and even though she couldn't see his face she thought he was looking better already. He was sitting in a chair across from her, with his head buried in his hands and resting between his legs. It was a pitiful sight really, and Zelda felt it tug at her heartstrings – she had no idea what had gotten him so upset, but she knew it was up to her to fix it, and she would do whatever she could._

_Now that he had calmed down, she told herself, she could actually talk with him. She had been waiting for a while for this moment, but now he seemed more… consolable. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Zelda began to talk._

"Hey, watch it, Zelda!" Zelda started, brought out of the memory with a sudden shout from Red, "You just about stepped on my poster!"

She looked down, and there was indeed a large poster spread out on the floor of the hallway – _Get Well Soon Pit_, it read, and the Pokémon trainer looked very pleased with it.

"I'm sorry," Zelda apologized quickly, stepping around the poster and making her way down the hallway until she reached Marth's room. She took a deep breath and prayed that he was feeling better before rapping gently on the door.

There was no answer, and she knocked again, more solidly this time, "Marth?"

There was still no answer, and Zelda considered kicking the door harder, but decided against it. Instead, she tried the door handle, and finding it unlocked, stepped inside. "Hello? Marth?"

The room was surprisingly lit, as the only window was thrown wide open. She wondered at this for a moment before turning to the prince's bed. Sure enough, it was occupied. "Marth, it's Zelda." She closed the door gently behind her, walking over to his bed and shaking his shoulder gently.

It fell off the bed. Zelda jumped back, exclaiming in shock. _That wasn't supposed to happen…__!_

"…Marth?" She leaned forward again, and yanked the covers off the bed in one fluent motion. They fell to the ground, and Zelda wasn't surprised when she saw what lay beneath. A small pile of clothes and pillows had raised the covers to create the illusion of someone sleeping in it. Marth himself was nowhere to be seen.

The Hylian princess let out a sigh of irritation, running a routine check around his room. His closet was still full of clothes – which meant he planned on coming back – but his sword was nowhere to be seen. She leaned out the open window, and found no sign of him having used it as an exit, _but wait_.

She made a mental note of the window's location, and then turned and left the room. Walking quickly, the princess worked her way down to the lobby, and then out of the manor entirely. Ignoring the all-too-common crowds gathered around the building, Zelda entered the "Brawlers-only" perimeter of the manor, locating the area under Marth's window without a problem. It was on the third floor, and she knew there was no way he could've made the leap and walked away.

Looking around, she located a small bush, and sure enough, hidden beneath it was a pile of sheets, tied tightly together to form a makeshift rope. There was no doubt in her mind what had happened now.

_Oh Marth, why do you do this to us?_

* * *

"So how's life up in Brawl Manor?" Natasha joked, still trying to come to grips what had just happened.

She had been walking down the street, on her way to the library, when she spotted someone down by the river's edge. It was an old river, and the dam holding it back had burst long ago – the town had deemed it unsafe even before she was born. And so, she wondered, what was that person doing? She had shouted down to them form the bridge crossing over the river, and after a minute or so, he came up. Natasha was shocked when she recognized Marth, and he had seemed surprised to see her again too.

And now the two of them were walking down the street, receiving odd looks from everyone who passed. It wasn't very common to see a Brawler out on the street like this – he hadn't even bothered to change from his usual outfit – cape, sword and all. Natasha didn't really know what to make of it all.

"It's been… all right." Marth responded slowly, "Nothing… too exciting." His voice shook slightly as he said this – or had she imagined it?

"I see," Natasha stared at the ground, "So… why are you out here then?"

"I snuck out this morning." He said it matter-of-factly, and Natasha blinked.

"Snuck out?"

Marth nodded, "Yeah. Everyone was too busy getting ready for the party to even notice I was gone. Not that they would've anyway…"

Natasha started to object to this, but then realized he had let something slip. "Party? What party?"

"Uhhh," Marth hesitated a moment, "I didn't mention a–"

"Yes you did. Don't lie." Natasha glared at him playfully, "Just tell me what it's about! Come on – I promise to keep it a secret!"

"Well…" Marth sighed. He didn't really feel like he should be sharing anything with anybody, but it would be nice to get it off his chest. Of course, he had told it all to Zelda yesterday, but somehow that wasn't the same… "You have to _promise_ you won't tell a soul!"

"I promise!" Natasha held her hand over her heart, sincerity showing in her eyes.

"All right then," Marth glanced around, and finding them alone, he leaned in, "It all stared when Captain Falcon invited us to watch him on the racetrack…"

* * *

_When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the sky. He was standing on a raised platform – a new one he had never seen before. He was dressed once more in his normal attire, and his bow was in his hand. His wings – both of them – rustled in the wind, and he knew that it must be a dream._

'_But I don'__t want to wake up,__'__ he told himself. He would see how long he could make this last, and _then_ he would worry about reality. Looking out from his little platform, he could see nothing but clouds on the horizon – a sight he had sorely missed._

'_This is it. I'm going to fly!' he grinned excitedly, spreading his wings out behind him. He took a deep breath before spreading his arms and throwing himself into the air._

_His wings caught the wind at once, and he found himself soaring above the clouds, laughing with glee at the feeling. His heart swelled with joy – he had missed this more than anything. It was so nice to finally–_

_His celebration was cut short when a sudden gust of wind threw off his balance and he twisted around so that his back was facing the ground, trying to regain it. However, when he did so, he found himself face-to-face with his lady Palutena. _

"_Oh! My lady!" He was startled by her sudden presence, and curious as to why she was in the air with him, but he didn't waste a beat, "Look! I can fly again!" _

_He wasn't really sure what her response to this would be, but she answered immediately… or didn't, really. She just looked at him, and shook her head sadly before vanishing into a pillar of smoke which had suddenly surrounded them._

"_My Lady! Wait!" Pit reached out to where she had been, but it was too late. His flight began to falter, and then he found himself spiraling out of control. 'Wha-?' He looked back in shock, horrified to find that his right wing had vanished entirely. His other was still catching the wind, and he was stuck in the downdraft; spinning dizzily as he plummeted to earth._

'_This was not how it was supposed to go.'_

"Pit, snap out of it, man!" A sudden pressure on his arm pulled him out of the air, and he landed hard on his bed, gasping from the shock. He opened his eyes wide, finding himself back in the Brawl clinic – Link sitting in front of him with a worried look on his face.

"…Link?" the angel rubbed at his eyes, "What're you…?"

"You must have fallen asleep while you were waiting for me," Link said, visibly relieved as he leaned back in his chair, "I think you were having a bad dream."

"I… I was flying," Pit said sadly, "For a little while anyhow… but then…"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Link cut in, but Pit shook his head.

"No," he said firmly, "I do want to. I just need to _tell_ someone." _About everything; but maybe I can start here…_

"All right, if you're sure…" The Hero looked uncertain himself.

Pit nodded, "I'm sure." He cleared his throat, thinking for a moment before going on. "I was flying again…" He told Link about his entire dream, and then he went back and told him about the dream he'd had the first night after his accident – the one where Palutena had disowned him. Link didn't say a word as the stories progressed, and Pit kept his eyes on the ground until he was done.

"…it was just a dream, Pit – you know that right?"

"No it wasn't…" Pit buried his head in his hands, "I'll never be able to fly again…"

"Don't say that!" Link started, but he stopped himself, realizing too late that nothing he could say could help his friend at this point. _He's probably right too,_ the Hylian swallowed hard, _how could he ever fly with just one wing?_

It was impossible – and they both knew it.

Pit was never going to be the same again.

* * *

"So Marth has run away?" Peach didn't seem too concerned, as she had been busying herself with the preparations all day. Zelda was doing her best to keep up with her while they walked around the manor to check on the party process.

"It seems that way," Zelda said slowly, "I don't know if we should be worried or not…"

Peach shrugged her shoulders, "Oh, I wouldn't think so," she said, skipping into the next room with Zelda close behind, "Marth can – oh, that looks lovely R.O.B.! – He can take care of himself, Zelda."

"I know he can, Peach," Zelda frowned at her friend, stepping over a pile of streamers and dodging a table, "But he's… not been himself lately. Last night… he…"

"He what?" Peach finally came to a stop, "Finish your sentences for gosh's sake." She sounded preoccupied and offhand, but Zelda could see a thinly-masked expression of worry on her face. No matter what she acted like – Peach's friends always came first, and were very important to her.

"Welllll," Zelda dragged out the word, and Peach's brow furrowed. This wasn't like Zelda at all.

"Spit it out, woman!" Princess Toadstool was all ears now.

"He had a falling out with Pit," Zelda said carefully, keeping her voice low so as not to attract the attention of the people all around them, "I found him on the roof in tears yesterday – he wasn't in the best shape of his life, Peach."

"Oh dear," Peach wasn't sure exactly what this entailed, but if Zelda was worried about it, then she saw no reason why she shouldn't be. She stepped into the hallway, "And now he's missing?"

"He climbed out of his window with a rope made of sheets." Zelda said flatly, and Peach would have giggled had it not been so inappropriate. The mental image was almost more than she could handle.

"That's not typically a good sign, is it?" Peach wondered if they should be out looking for him, "But you did talk to him right? I mean you – just hang it anywhere, Ike – you talked some sense into him?"

"I did," Zelda confirmed, "Or, I tried to. But… you never know." There was a moment of silence, during which about five more people came to ask Peach where to hang various decorations or balloons. Zelda leaned up against a wall, resisting the urge to rub her temples. This wasn't getting them anywhere.

"Well _I_ think we have nothing to worry about," Peach said finally, causing Zelda to look up again. "If you really did talk to him, I'll bet Marth is doing just fine!"

Her optimism had been expected, but Zelda was still glad to hear it from her, "You're probably right," the Hylian nodded.

"Of course I am!" Peach laughed, "He's probably just letting out some steam at some arcade or something."

"Letting _off_ steam?" Zelda raised an eyebrow, and Peach shrugged.

"Off, out, same difference. The point is – he's fine, so stop worrying!" She giggled before prancing away into the next room, and Zelda fell away. The hubbub of the manor was starting to bother her – she needed to go someplace quiet…

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Also, a question! So far in this story, characters like Pikachu and Kirby have been using some kind of "translators" to speak. I am personally fond of this idea, but sometimes it seems like a little too out of character for me… What are your opinions? What about the other Pokémon characters, the Kongs, Yoshi, R.O.B., and Mr. Game and Watch? Any feedback or ideas on this would be muchly welcomed. Thanks, and see you next time!_


	12. Not Actually the Climax

**_Author's Note: _**_Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, and especially for your replies to my question! I think I'm going to go roughly with what EggPlantWitch said – I agree that the Pokémon, R.O.B., and GaW can go without translators. _

_Anyhow, to move on – I just wanted to say that I'm a jerk. 'Cuz this isn't the climax chapter either._

_Apparently I had a lot more build up to go through first, and I'm not even going to say that the next one is (even though it should be) because I'll probably be lying again. So, sorry about that, and I hope this isn't getting too long and boring._

* * *

"That's horrible!" Natasha's eyes were wide as Marth went over the events of the last few days. She hadn't said much while he detailed the accident, and then what had happened the night after – which was still a mystery to him – but now that he had gotten her up to date, she really had nothing else she _could_ say.

"I know." Marth shook his head, staring into the water with an odd expression on his face, "I… I just don't know what to do anymore. I thought it was all my fault, but then I talked to Pit and… well, I made everything worse with him, but Zelda convinced me it will all be okay. I don't know how though… nothing's ever going to be the same."

"No, probably not," Natasha's head was still whirling with the new information, but she was still trying to help Marth feel better, "It probably won't be – but that doesn't have to be a bad thing." Marth looked up as she went on. "Just think of it as a new adventure of sorts – one with a crappy beginning, but with the potential of turning into something awesome!"

"Awesome?" Marth laughed grimly, "I'm sure it will be."

"Uhh, poor choice of words there." Natasha kicked herself mentally, and then tried to change the subject, "But back to the party… you planning on going?"

"I wasn't," Marth admitted readily, glad for the shift in conversation, "But I think I'm ready to now. I'll just do my best not to get too close to him or make him uncomfortable…"

"Mmm," Natasha wished she could offer more advice for him, "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"I sure hope so."

Natasha stared into the river, thinking. A sudden idea had occurred to her, but she didn't know just how to go about bringing it up. She took a deep breath, "Hey Marth?"

"Yeah?" The prince turned to face her, "What is it?"

She hesitated, "Umm… this is a bit personal, but I have to ask you something about Pit."

"Shoot,"

"Welllll… what's the recovery plan exactly?"

"Recovery plan?" Marth raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by–"

"Like, how's he going to get on with his life?" Natasha leaned back again, comfortable now that her thoughts were on the table, "My dad's a doctor, so I know all about this kind of thing. How are – Kasey and Joe, right? – how are they going to help him?"

"I'm… not really sure," Marth said honestly, turning away again to look at the water flowing by. He had pulled his shoes off and had his feet in the water up to his ankles. Something about this struck Natasha as hilarious, but she kept this to herself as he thought, and then jumped in again. "Are they thinking about getting him a prosthetic?"

Marth looked back up at her, bewildered, "A what?"

"Prosthetic, you know, a fake limb? Or, wing, in this case…"

"I didn't know they made them for wings..." Marth looked confused, and Natasha shrugged nonchalantly.

"They don't, really," she said, "But I'll bet we could make one! Remember how I said my dad was a doctor?" Marth nodded, and she went on excitedly, "Well, he actually does that kind of stuff for a living – he works with amputees and even knows how to make the prosthetics himself!"

"So, what you're saying is…"

"We could make Pit a prosthetic wing!"

"…you think so?" Marth wasn't really sure what to say to this – Natasha seemed suddenly excited, but he wasn't too sure he even _liked_ the idea, "It's an interesting thought, anyhow…"

"I'll bet Dad could make it work," Natasha nodded to herself, "You should talk to this Joe guy about it – I mean, it could really help, don'tcha think?"

"There's no way a fake wing could help him fly, is there?"

"…probably not," Natasha's enthusiasm vanished as quickly as it had come, "But it could help with the cosmetics side of it."

"Cosmetics?" Marth blinked, "Like makeup?"

"No, silly," She laughed, "Like, making him look normal again?"

"Oh." Marth nodded sheepishly, "He'd like that, I think,"

"See – it _could _help!"

"I'll… I'll ask Joe about it tonight." He said slowly, still uncertain. _It's worth a shot, at least. Even if it turns out to be nothing at all…_

* * *

"So is everything ready then?" Peach turned to find Mario standing behind her, flanked by Luigi and Sonic.

She blinked, "For the party?"

Sonic rolled his eyes, "No, for the wedding," he laughed, "Yes the party!"

"Oh, right," Peach giggled too, "I think so; the decorations are up, Kirby's cake is done; the balloons are blown up… everything seems good!" She had yet to hear from Marth or Zelda, or even Link for that matter, but she was trying not to let that get to her, "I'm so excited!"

"Me too," Mario grinned, "I think your enthusiasm is catching!"

"Must be," Sonic agreed, "The entire manor's running around like chickens with their heads cut off!"

Peach laughed again, "This is going to be great!"

Mario opened his mouth to reply to this, but was cut off when Toon Link burst into their circle.

"Hey guys!" He chirped, skidding to a halt, "Have any of you seen Captain Falcon?"

"Falcon?" Peach tilted her head to the side, thinking, "No… I don't think I have. Why, is he missing?"

"I dunno," Toon shrugged, seemingly uncaring, "He said he'd take me to the track, but I think he forgot and went out by himself…"

"Hunh." Mario mulled this over, "I'll let you know if I see him, okay, kid?"

"All right, thanks!" Toon didn't give anyone else a chance to answer him before he sped off again, and Luigi frowned.

"Seems to be a lot of people missing around here, doesn't there?" He said, and Mario looked over at him.

"What do you mean by that, bro?"

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Luigi went on, "But I haven't seen Marth all day, and Zelda left the manor a while ago… Link seems to have vanished and now Captain Falcon too… notice a pattern?"

"Yeah…" Sonic said slowly, "Bad vibes all around."

"Oh, phooey!" Peach cried exaggeratingly, "Bad vibes my foot – you people are terrible! This party is going to be fantastic, I'm sure everyone has their own reasons for running off!"

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mario quickly amended, knowing better than to argue with the headstrong woman in pink.

"Mmm," Luigi nodded, and Sonic looked unsure, but all three let it go, and the conversation moved on to lighter things.

Mere hours later, however, they would regret not pursuing the meaning of the perceived "bad vibes". Yes, they would regret it very, _very_ deeply.

* * *

_This is nice,_ Zelda thought to herself as she walked along the bank. She hadn't really expected to find a river out here – which just went to show how little she left the manor – but it had been a pleasant surprise, and she was enjoying the serenity of it. It had been far too long since she got out on her own and had some quiet time.

_I should really do this more often._

She continued walking down the river, looking over her shoulder every once and a while – an annoying habit she had picked up from her years in Hyrule – until she reached a bridge overlooking the water. It wasn't a very high bridge, but it appeared that the road went directly over it, and multiple barriers made it quite clear that there was no entry allowed to the river. She stared at the signs intently, so much so that she almost didn't even notice the duo sitting on the bank until she was right on top of them.

"Zelda?" She looked down, startled at the familiar voice.

"_Marth_?" Her voice was incredulous, and she stopped where she stood. She hadn't expected this at _all_. "What're _you_ doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Marth frowned, "Shouldn't you be helping Peach with the party preparations?"

"Shouldn't _you_?" Zelda glanced curiously at Natasha, "And who's this?"

"Uhh, I'm Natasha," The girl said slowly, somewhat stunned at the sudden celebrity appearance – the second of the day.

"I see." Zelda sank down to sit beside Marth, surprising all three of them, "You don't mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all," Marth shook his head, "I was just… err, telling Natasha here about the party tonight…"

"Were you?" Zelda didn't seem surprised by this at all, "Did you invite her to come along?"

"Did I…" Marth blinked, "What?"

"No, we were just talking," Natasha cut in quickly, sensing a possible problem, "Honest – there wasn't anything–" Zelda cut her off.

"Would you _like_ to come to the party?"

There was a stunned silence, broken only when Zelda laughed.

"Why so surprised?" She asked teasingly, "It was an invitation – you can come if you'd like, it could be fun."

"Could… could I really?" Natasha was shocked, but she wanted nothing more than to accept the offer. She had been wanting to meet Pit for years, and what better way to go about it than going to his own "get well soon" party?

"I don't see why not." Zelda shrugged, "You're a friend of Marth's right?"

'And you _did_ want to talk to Joe…" Marth was starting to warm up to the idea, and he smiled, "You should come!"

"Well…" Natasha hesitated a moment, but then grinned, "If I'm allowed, I would love to come!"

"That settles it then," Zelda rose to her feet again. "I'll talk to Peach to double-check things, and I will see you both there tonight."

"Okay great," Marth leaned back, "Thanks, Zelda."

"Anytime," The princess smiled gently, stepping delicately away from the duo on the ground, "I'll be heading back now, do try to stay out of trouble?"

"Will do!" Natasha laughed, and then turned back to Marth, "Tonight's going to be so awesome…"

"I sure hope so," Marth said, "I don't think the manor can take any more… of this."

Natasha nodded slowly to this, not wanting to say anything. An unspoken question came to her mind, but she didn't speak it out loud – it just didn't seem the time. But still… she wondered.

_Is it really the manor that can't take any more… or is it you?_

* * *

That night, everything was ready. All the preparations were finally complete – the decorations were hung, the food was finished, the excitement was mounting… everything was going perfectly.

Pit was finally starting to get a little excited about things, Link noticed, watching his friend with a smile on his face. It had been a few hours since Pit had opened up, and the time of the party was nearing. Kasey had brought a mirror into Pit's room so he could "fancy himself up" – which really only consisted of changing his clothes. He had gotten back into his regular white outfit, gotten the laurel into his hair and his boots on all by himself, but he needed some help getting the bands onto his left arm. Link was only too happy to help with this, and soon Pit was back to normal. Well… almost.

He stared at himself in the mirror – at the black glove covering the bandages on his right hand, and the crooked edge of his right wing splayed out behind him. It had taken him a while to allow Link to see this, but he finally seemed comfortable with it, and he turned to the Hylian in distress.

"I can't go out there like this!" He cried, fanning out his left wing for emphasis, "I'm not ready for that… not yet."

"Hmmm," Link didn't argue, but looked at his friend thoughtfully, "I'll bet we could cover it up for you? I mean, if you really wanted to."

"Of course I do!" Pit left the mirror, sitting on the chair across from Link rather than the bed – which he had grown quite tired of.

"I'll bet I could find a cape or something that would work…" Link rose to his feet, "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Pit nodded, waiting as he left and then turning back to the mirror. He fluttered his damaged wing as best as he could – movement was still limited, and painful, but he tried. "It doesn't look that bad," he told himself bravely, "And my hand isn't even noticeable inside the glove… this could work." Of course, he still wasn't ready to go out in public without covering himself, but it was a start to be okay with it on his own. He stared entranced at his reflection, not moving again until Link arrived and threw a red cloak in his direction.

"Thanks!" Pit picked it up, running his fingers across the soft material, "Hey, wait a second… isn't this–"

"It belonged to an ex-Brawler, yup," Link nodded, "You rememberRoy?"

"We never met officially," Pit said offhandedly, "It's a nice cloak though." He rose to his feet, and Link helped him to get it on. When it was finished, he stepped back and looked him over. The cloak looked odd on top of Pit's normal attire, but this was probably due to its usual absence. It effectively covered his wings, and Link realized that with it on, the angel looked the same as he always had.

"It's perfect." Pit announced after a moment, "Thanks Link!"

"No problem," Link grinned, "Does this mean you're ready for the party?"

Pit responded, a grin of his own growing on his face, "As soon as it's ready for me!"

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**_What, up there?^ Oh, that was my attempt at suspense. It was good, wasn't it? I'll bet you're just dying to know what happens._

_Also, I have decided – as anyone who's seen my profile should know – that this story is going to have a sequel. Before anyone says anything – it's not going to be a "sequel-sequel", but more of a companion story, ie; different main characters, different plotline, but it _will_ take place after the end of Born to Fly. I've also decided that I'm going to post the prologue to it once I've (finally) posted the climax chapter for this one, but just the prologue. The rest will have to wait. :) Let me know what you think of the idea, and I may tell you more later~ thanks! _


	13. Homecoming

_**Author's Note: **Finally the climax build-up begins! It's about time, isn't it? I can't believe this story is nearly over... it feels like it's been a long time, but I digress. As a late Christmas present, here is chapter thirteen.  
Oh- and I think you should all check out my profile. Not gonna waste word count detailing, but feel free to check if you like! Now- onto chapter thirteen!_

* * *

Wow; you guys did an amazing job with the decorating!" Kasey grinned ear to ear, looking around the cafeteria, "It looks fantastic in here!"

"Thanks, Kasey!" Beside her, Peach too grinned, "We put a lot of hard work into it!"

"It certainly shows," Kasey smoothed down her slacks – she was out of her typical doctor's outfit for the evening, not wanting to spoil the party with reminders of… other things – and watched as the Brawlers scrambled around finishing last-minute touch-ups.

Someone walked into the room then, and everyone held their breaths for a moment before recognizing Marth and moving on.

"Hey Marth," Kasey smiled carefully at the prince, whom she hadn't seen since the incident the day before, "How're you – oh! Hello there!" She looked down at the girl standing beside Marth, "I don't believe we've met?"

"No, we haven't," Natasha smiled shyly, "I'm Natasha, a… friend of Marth's. They invited me to the party."

"Did they?" Natasha raised an eyebrow, and Marth shrugged.

"Joe said it was okay," he said, and Kasey laughed again.

"Well all right then," she said cheerily, "If it's fine with Joe, it's fine with me! I'm Kasey, by the way," She offered a hand to Natasha, "I'm the manor's doctor-in-training, Joe's assistant."

"Nice to meet you!" They shook hands, and then Kasey excused herself, merging with the crowd of excited Brawlers.

There was a moment of silence then, and Peach spoke up. "Hello, Marth." She said it casually, but he could feel the implications behind her words. _She knows everything._ He had learned long ago not to bother hiding anything from the princess, and he gave her a nice, if not somewhat forced, smile.

"It's all good, Peach," he said, "I'm fine. And Zelda's on her way here; she should arrive shortly."

"Excellent!" Peach clapped her hands together, giggling, "I can't _wait_ to get things underway!"

* * *

"Sounds like the party's already started…" The young angel shifted his position behind his friend, peering around the corner. "Are you sure we should–"

"You're just nervous." Link assured him, smiling gently. "They're all waiting for you."

Despite the air of confidence he had felt earlier, Pit had taken his sweet time in making it to the location of the party. He felt hesitant to enter the room now, and they had been standing outside for at least five minutes now, Pit ducked back behind Link as though something were going to jump out at them.

"I don't know if I'm ready for this." Pit said softly, and Link turned around to face him.

"You are."

Pit flinched at the tone in his voice – it sounded as though Link were more sure of him than he himself was. "But I–"

"I'm right behind you, buddy," Link said, nodding towards the doorway, "all the way."

"I know… I just–"

Link shook his head, cutting Pit off. "Let's go." Without allowing his friend another moment to consider, Link grabbed his good arm and walked into the room.

The first thing that hit Pit was the massive amount of balloons. And ribbons. Everywhere. Clearly, someone had gone all out on the decorating. However, he didn't have time to think about it further, because as soon as the Brawlers realized he had joined them, a silence fell over the entire room. Pit felt a knot forming in his stomach, and it was all he could do to keep breathing and look around.

"You're here!" A sudden shout caught everyone off guard, and Pit jumped when the woman in pink came up beside him. "Welcome back!" The unexpected exclamation broke the ice, and instantly the angel found himself surrounded by people. Link fought to stay beside him as friends, enemies and strangers alike came to share their happiness at his recovery and to welcome him back to their lives.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Pit!" Red, one of Pit's few "friends" came up beside him, grinning. "Missed ya lots!"

"Missed you too," Pit had time to say before the next person was on top of him.

"Good to see you!"

"Welcome back!"

"How are you feeling?"

"Jiggly!"

"High-five!"

Within a few minutes, Pit's head was spinning, but he couldn't help but grin at the massive amount of encouragement. Even people he would consider his rivals – Diddy Kong, Popo and Toon, for example – came to wish him well. They seemed to deliberately refrain from touching him, but Pit didn't really mind. To him, it only showed that they cared even more.

"I didn't think anyone would even care!" He whispered to Link when they had a moment, tears stinging in his eyes. "I thought nobody liked me!"

"I told you you were wrong!" Link whispered back, his own eyes glistening.

Eventually, most of the Brawlers moved on, and Pit made his way to the middle of the room, surrounded by the people he considered closest (though he had never realized it before). Link and Peach were still behind him, with Red at his right. Somehow Kasey had snuck up beside him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. To his surprise, Pit found he didn't mind this.

"So you are feeling better, right?" Red glanced down at Pit's gloved hand curiously.

"I am;" Pit folded his arm into his cloak, self-conscious, "I'm feeling great."

"Awesome!" Red stopped in front of a green couch, roughly kicking Kirby off in order to make space, and then winking at the puffball.

"I was about to move anyhow." Said Kirby, sticking his tongue out playfully. Pit sank between Red and Link on the cushions, and blinked when Peach shoved a piece of cake into his hand.

"Kirby made it," She explained before prancing away again. Kasey laughed, "Man, Peach sure went nuts with this party, didn't she?"

"Peach did all this?" Pit looked over at the doctor, mouth full of cake. "Wow."

"The woman is good at what she does." Link agreed, leaning back into the couch and closing his eyes. Pit nodded his agreement, finishing up the piece of cake in record time. Without a word, Kirby stole the empty plate away, asking if he wanted another piece before ducking away into the kitchen. Pit politely refused, and then looked around the room again.

Everyone present had already spoken to him… but not everyone was present, it seemed. Pit frowned, his memory nagging at him to discover who wasn't – ahh.

_Marth_, he realized suddenly. _Zelda, Joe and Falcon. _Everyone who had been involved the day of the accident, save Kasey, seemed to be absent. _They don't like me for sure…_

He slumped suddenly, and beside him Red cocked his head, "Pit?"

"Do you know where Joe is?" Pit asked the Pokémon trainer, careful to keep his voice casual.

"Uhhh… yes," Red nodded, "I do. Marth and Natasha wanted to talk to him. They stepped out a few minutes before you got here."

"Natasha?" Link, one eye open and trained on them, raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"A fan of ours." Red smiled, 'Or rather, of Pit's. She's been tailing Marth for a few days now, and he and Zelda invited her to the party to meet Pit."

"I see." Link closed his eye again. "And where is Zelda?"

"She went for a walk a while ago… isn't back yet."

"And Falcon?"

Pit felt his heart swell – even without looking at him Link had been able to tell what was bothering him and was asking for the answers Pit was too afraid to. He really was a fantastic friend.

"Falcon…" Red frowned, "is gone. He took off hours ago, haven't seen him since. Why?"

"Just curious." Link shrugged. "Thanks."

"No prob." Red said happily, turning back to Pit, "Now, what do you wanna do next?"

"I don't–" Pit started, but was cut off when Samus came to stand in front of him.

"Hey kid." She nodded curtly, and Pit felt Link tense up beside him, though the Hylian didn't move.

"Uh, hey." Pit blinked, puzzled by the friendly look on her face.

"Glad to see you up," she said casually, stroking the mouse Pokémon sitting on her shoulder, "it's about time."

"What do you–" Pit felt incredibly confused, but Samus just smirked and walked away, ponytail waving behind her. Pit turned to Red, who shrugged, and then to Link who remained silent.

"Well." He said slowly, looking back to where the assassin was chastising Snake, having moved on already. "That was weird."

* * *

An hour and a half later, the party was still going strong. The cake was just about gone, and someone had turned Super Smash Bros. on the big screen. Pit was enjoying watching the game, but had refused to join in. He hadn't realized before he would be unable to participate in his favourite pastime of video games due to his injured hand, but he was trying not to let it bother him.

"PWNED!" Toon shouted suddenly, and all watched as his character's Final Smash wiped the floor with the rest of the players. Pit couldn't help but laugh at this – he really was having a great time.

He was still sitting on the couch in the middle of the manor's lounge room, with Link on his right and Red on his left. To all appearances, Link had fallen asleep, and Pit realized (with a twinge of regret) that his friend was exhausted. He had been spending all his time in the medbay with Pit as of late, and according to Kasey hadn't gotten much rest in between visits. Pit was glad he was getting some now.

Zelda had returned from her walk an hour ago, and had wasted no time in greeting the angel with a hug. She, it seemed, had been genuinely concerned, and she chatting with him for a good while before leaving to speak with Peach about something. Likewise, Marth, Joe and Natasha had come in, and Joe had introduced the girl gladly. Pit noticed her curious glances at his cape and arm, but he did his best to ignore that, and greeted her warmly. She had seemed pretty excited to meet him. Marth hadn't even come over; he was still standing by the doorway even now. Pit had half a mind to go to him, but wasn't sure how to go about it, and so remained still where he was.

In fact, he wasn't sure he would be able to stand even if he _had_ wanted to – he was starting to feel very drowsy. The lights had been turned off when the video game started, and it had been a long day; it didn't surprise him that he was tired. He didn't want to fall asleep though; the chance of someone lifting his cape – even accidentally – was something he was unwilling to risk. Holding back a yawn, Pit rose to his feet, swaying. Suddenly disoriented, he grabbed onto Red and sank back into the cushions.

"Whoa, hey!" Red flinched back. "You all right?"

"I'm fine." Pit said slowly. "Just got up too fast. I'll wait a moment." He leaned back again, closing his eyes. Nobody else, it seemed, had noticed his fault, and Pit listened as their lives continued around him. It was as if nothing had changed in the time he had gone – they were still laughing, still mocking one another, still betting on who would win brawls… everything was the exact same. Only moments ago, Pit had been admiring that fact, glad that he was home again. But all of a sudden something had changed and suddenly… he wasn't fine at all.

He opened his eyes again, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "I'm going to step out for a moment." He told Red, rising again to his feet – slower this time.

"Careful!" Red warned gently. "Do you want me to–"

"No," Pit cut him off quickly, "I'll be right back." He stumbled away from the couch, passing in front of the television. The haggard expression he wore caused the players to pause the game, and everyone watched as he made his way out of the room. His red cape swished around his feet as he left, taking the room's jovial atmosphere along with him.

"Something's not right." Peach whispered suddenly to herself, looking around for Joe. He had left again, to make a phone call regarding something Natasha had told him, and had yet to return. "We should– hunh?"

Before the princess had a chance to say anything more, Kasey had taken her arm, shaking her head. "It's perfectly normal." The young woman said in a low voice. "Pit's under a lot of pressure right now. He just needs a minute."

"I guess you're right…" Peach frowned sullenly. "We'll just have to wait."

The silence in the room was deafening.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ As promised, here is a quick preview into the "sequel" to this story: It has been titled "The Art of WAR", and features Toon, Red, and a cast of other fun characters (primarily kids) in a unique "war" of sorts. It starts out as fun and games, but something goes horribly wrong... and yes, it is another hurt/comfort story, why do you ask? ;)_


	14. A Pivotal Point

_**A/N: **Chapter fourteen. Wow. I can't actually believe we've made it this far! It feels almost like I've always been writing this story, and I'm kind of sad it's going to be over soon… but sentiment aside. I am please to present to you (finally), the climax chapter! I hope it lives up to all your expectations!_

* * *

Standing just around the corner from the door, Pit could hear the silence that fell over the room with his departure. He would have felt bad for ruining the moment, but he didn't have time to think about it; something else was going on. Something he knew wasn't right.

He took a shaky breath, leaning against the wall and ignoring the jolt when it scraped against the bone of his right wing. He sucked air into his lungs, starting to feel lightheaded.

_What is going on_?

He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling this way – he couldn't even concentrate enough to figure it out. All at once he felt chilled to the bone; and yet he could feel heat radiating off his skin. He was shaking; but felt sturdy enough to stand, hyperventilating; but relatively calm. Although he could tell he was about to lose it.

His heart pounding, he buried his head in his hands, shaking with the effort of remaining still and rational.

_**What** is happening to me?_

* * *

"_I relieve you of your duties. You are no longer bound to be here…"_ The voice echoed still in his memories, and Pit's eyes flew open at the sound of it.

"Lady Palutena?" He climbed to his feet, all sense of disorientation gone. "My Lady?"

"_Pit." _Looking around, Pit realized that he was once more in the clouds, and like the last time his wings were completely gone. His right hand was healed, but he reminded himself that it was merely a vision before continuing.

"Where are you, my Lady?"

"_Pit," _He turned again, finding Palutena standing directly behind him, and he fell to one knee in a bow of reverence. _"You are hurt._" She said the same words she had said it last time, but this time in a tone of pity. The angel frowned slightly, unsure if he preferred this to the earlier, colder Palutena.

"I will recover, Lady." He said carefully, "I am not useless to you."

"_I know."_ She seemed to be mulling it over. _"But I have not use for you."_

"But my Lady!" Pit nearly jumped to his feet, but checked himself just in time. "I beg you reconsider! Please I just–" A sudden tap on his shoulder cut him off, and he growled at it. Now was not the time. "Just give me one more chance!"

"_Not yet." _Palutena shook her head slowly, and began to fade from his vision, _"Perhaps when you are ready…"_

"I'm ready now!" This time Pit did jump to his feet, gritting his teeth as the unseen force behind him gave him a shake. "Leave me alone!" He shouted at it, racing towards his liege without thinking. "Lady Palutena!"

"PIT!" Someone screamed suddenly, and he jumped. He looked ahead, but the goddess had vanished from sight. Sinking to the ground, devastated, Pit didn't even bother to move when the clouds gave way beneath him and he began to fall once more…

* * *

"Okay, that's it." Samus growled suddenly, cutting into the silence of the lounge. "I'm outta here." Removing Pikachu from her shoulder, she pushed off the wall she'd been leaning on and stormed out the door before anyone could stop her.

Turning down the hall, she searched in both directions before discovering her goal, and upon doing so, gasped.

The young angel was shaking all over; his face was ashen and he stared at the ground, sightless. "Pit…?" The assassin leaned over him, her voice betraying her concern.

"You don't look so good…"

"Go away please." His voice sounded thin and frightened, and he didn't even glance up. Samus got an eerie feeling that he really wasn't there at all, but someplace else. Someplace far away.

She shook her head, strengthening her resolve. "Pit." She tapped him on the shoulder, none too gently, but he didn't respond. "Pit! PIT!" Suddenly he slumped against the wall, and Samus grabbed onto him, not knowing what else to do. She could feel his heart beating from where she crouched, and though she would never admit it, it was scaring her. "Pit, I need you to–!" She cut herself off, caught off guard when Pit stiffened in her arms.

"I… said…" he muttered, his eyes slowly focusing as she leaned over him. "Go **AWAY**!" Bucking suddenly, he kicked the assassin in the stomach, throwing her back before leaping to his feet. Caught off-guard and winded, Samus was unable to do anything but stare as he raced down the hallway for some unknown destination.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted over his shoulder, giving Samus a clear view of the delirium written on his face before he fled from her sight.

A low groan escaped her lips as Samus pushed herself to her knees, already feeling the bruise forming between her ribs. While normally she would have been infuriated at the cowardly attack, she felt nothing but horror and worry at what had just happened. Without realizing it, she had grown to like the kid, and the fear of what he could do right now twisted in her gut as she climbed to her feet and tripped back into the lounge.

* * *

"He _what_?" Kasey's eyes were big as plates as Samus recounted what had happened in the hall only minutes before, and Joe held up a hand.

"Not so loud," he said softly, glancing around the room. Though still a pale reflection of its earlier mood, the room had begun to come alive again, and already the video game had resumed and cake was being passed around. "We don't want to scare people."

"Well it's too late for that." Samus snorted, doing her best to hide her concern and uphold her image.

"Hmm?" Kasey glanced over at the assassin with a raised eyebrow, but Samus looked away and the doctor quickly moved on. "So then, what now?"

"We need to find Pit." Link chimed in, finally getting in on the conversation. He had woken up the moment his friend had moved from beside him, but had been too slow and groggy to prevent his departure. Now, standing between Red and Peach, who were also concerned and willing to help, he wished he'd been able to do more.

"Agreed." Red nodded his head. "It sounds to me like he's in rough shape…"

"Like my ribs." Samus added glaringly, but nobody paid her any mind.

"…and it's our job to find him and bring him back!" Peach said, determination written on her face.

"All right," Joe glanced at the four Brawlers, then Kasey, "but be careful. We don't know what's wrong with him, and anything could set him off."

"And don't let anyone know what we're doing. Just be stealthy about–" Before Kasey could even finish her sentence, Marth and Natasha were standing behind her. "Oh, hey guys." She laughed nervously, and Natasha blinked.

"What're you guys doing?" The young fan asked.

Peach shrugged quickly. "Planning a search party."

Kasey hit herself in the head with the palm of her hand. "Nice, Peach."

"…what?"

"Never mind." Link cut in again before things got too messy. "You two can help us. We have to spread out and find Pit!"

"Right." Red agreed, "Let's go!"

"Discreetly!" Joe added quickly. He watched then, holding back a sigh as all five of his companions burst out of the room at the same time, each taking off in a different direction.

"Well," Kassey said quietly after a moment, "at least they know what they're doing."

* * *

It was a beautiful evening. The night air was crisp and clear, and the moon formed a perfect glowing crescent high above the few remaining wisps of cloud. Bits of moonlight reflected off the flowers of the garden, casting a shimmery haze over the whole of the roof, as well as its sole habitant.

Had he been watching, it would have been a spectacle to behold. But Captain Falcon was not watching the sky. He was not watching the moon, the flowers, or anything at all for that matter. Sitting in a lawnchair under the canopy, Falcon had his head buried in his hands, doing his best to drown out the noises of the night, and the voices drifting up from the floor below.

He was in a terribly foul mood. He had spent the day trying to get himself prepared for the party that night, but had been unable to erase the feelings of guilt and sorrow he felt. He still felt like it was his fault what had happened – he knew he wouldn't be able look the angel in the eyes; maybe ever again.

So of course, he was entirely unprepared minutes later, when the very same came bursting through the doors onto the roof. Falcon jumped in his chair, startled as he recognized Pit, and then worried as he spotted the look on his face.

"Whoa, buddy!" Rising slowly as his heart pounded, the racer held his hands out in front of his body, not daring to make any sudden moves as he attempted a closer look at his friend. Pit's body was shaking violently, and he was panting something awful. His eyes were wild and unfocused, and his gaze flitted around like a distracted puppy dog as Falcon edged ever closer. "Pit?"

"G-go away," the angel whimpered softly, "I can do this on my own."

"Do… what?" Falcon repeated just as softly.

There was a long drawn out pause before Pit responded, turning his glazed eyes in the captain's general direction. "Fly, of course." His voice was soft, but Falcon could hear a tone of seriousness in it, as well as… something else. Something that he knew wasn't supposed to be there. _Wait… did he just say… __**fly?**_

"Pit!" Falcon jumped forwards without thinking, and Pit tensed up. Realizing his mistake, Falcon froze and put his hands up again. "Pit, listen to me. You can't fly."

"Yes I can." Pit turned his gaze away from Falcon again, to the night sky. The atmosphere Falcon had neglected to notice mere minutes earlier was coming back to haunt him – casting a pale glow across his friend's face that made him seem almost possessed. Of course, Falcon didn't know if that was a possibility, but Pit certainly wasn't acting like himself… "I've always been able to fly."

"Not…" Falcon choked on the words, but recovered quickly, "Not anymore, kid." Pit's eyes flitted in his direction, but his face remained lifted skyward, and he spread his arms wide. The red cape he wore fell back, resting loosely against his wings and giving Falcon a clear view of the bandages wrapping his arm and wing.

"I can do this." Pit repeated again, stepping slowly towards the roof's guardrails, arms still raised. Falcon's heart threatened to pound its way out of his chest as he moved to intercept the angel, but Pit stepped around him as though he weren't even there. "I can do this." Frozen with fear, Falcon watched as Pit took small steps, each bringing him closer to what would surely be his doom. He continued to mutter the four words under his breath, repeating them like a mantra of sorts. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this."

Stumbling, Falcon tried again to stop the angel, but found his legs had turned to jelly. He crumbled to the ground, tears welling up in his eyes. "Pit, don't!"

Pit didn't even turn, so caught up in his own world that Falcon wondered if he had even heard. "I can do this." He took another step. Another. Closer. Closer. Just a few more steps and he would be at the guardrail. Falcon tried to force his eyes down, away from this sight that held him frozen, captivated, but to no avail. His eyes were fixed on the red cloak slowly moving away from him, and his breath caught as it stopped.

"I can… do this." Pit took a deep breath, and climbed onto the guardrail itself. Standing slowly, he fought for balance, arms spread wide as he tottered back and forth.

Finally, he stood still, his weight spread evenly as he swayed, balanced perfectly between Heaven and Earth. His hand moved, and the red cloak came fluttering down from his shoulders, landing in a heap by the railing's base. Falcon's eyes followed the garment, fixated on the startling colour, then snapped back to his friend. Lit only by the moonlight, he could see Pit's eyes close, and then watched as he took yet another deep breath. And then his knees bent, and his wings spread, and Pit prepared to jump.

* * *

_**A/N: **Please let me know what you think in a review; I'd love to hear from you! Oh, and as promised, the prologue to this story's companion, "The Art of WAR" is now posted. Feel free to check it out!_


	15. Delayed Denouement

_**Author's Note: **So it would seem it's been eons since my last update... five months, at least. For this, I am terribly sorry - but it probably won't happen again. I've been crazy into writing fanfics over the last week or so, so I'm doing my best to update everything! Hopefully this phase of mine continues straight through to the end of this one. (: Oh, and don't forget to check out the prologue to this story's companion, _The Art of WA_R;_ _I assure you you won't be disappointed!_

* * *

"Anything yet?" Natasha came up behind Marth, frowning deeply at her lack of luck so far.

The prince turned to look at her, shaking his head. "Nothing; I have no idea where he's gone."

"You checked his room?" Natasha flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned up against a wall. Marth nodded.

"Of course."

"His usual hangouts?"

"Check."

"Aughhhh!" Ignoring the odd look Marth cast her way, she pushed away from the wall once more and looked around the empty hallway, frustrated.

It had been less than ten minutes since they had begun their "search" for Pit – the five Brawlers, two doctors and Natasha had been combing the manor over, but had yet to find their missing friend. Ordinarily, they wouldn't have been too worried about such a "temper tantrum" (as Samus had taken to calling it), but Kasey's words from mere minutes ago kept echoing in Natasha's head, and she only found herself growing more and more worried as the minutes ticked by.

"_We need to find him, now."_ Kasey had said, an edge to her voice the Brawlers had never heard before. _"He's clearly delirious; there's no telling _what _he might do."_

"I know, I know!" Natasha muttered to the memory, and Marth took a step closer to her.

"Are… you okay, Natasha?" Concern flashed in his blue eyes, but she waved him away.

"I'm just worried." She admitted, swallowing hard. "Are you _positive_ that we've looked everywhere that he could be?"

"Positive."

Natasha screwed her eyes shut, trying her very best to focus. "We need to think like Pit." She said after a moment. "He's not in his right mind… maybe seeing things… where would he go where he would feel comfortable? Close to something he knows is real? …somewhere he can be himself."

There was another moment of silence, and suddenly Marth had an idea. "The roof!"

"…the roof?" Natasha's eyes opened, somewhat surprised. "Why would he–"

"I'm not entirely sure," Marth grabbed at her arm, already tugging her towards the doorway to the roof, "but something tells me the open sky would do the trick. Let's go!" Taking his hand away, he lead her quickly to the door, which had been flung wide open. Exchanging a glance, they raced up the stairs two at a time, both praying they weren't too late.

* * *

"So what do you think are the chances you can… oh? …..okay, I see. Mhmm… I know…. I agree entirely…." Joe leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his desk as he spoke into the phone in his hand. "You know what – I have a bit of a situation here, and you have work to do, so I'll talk to you later, all right? …sounds good…. Thanks so much, Brad…. you have no idea. Okay, bye."

Hanging up quickly, Joe placed the phone gently down on the surface of his desk, eyeing it a moment before rising to his feet. To his knowledge, Pit still hadn't been found, and he was unsure as to what…

_Breeeeep-breeeep-breeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

"What the-?" Leaning down, Joe noticed his watch flashing at him, and he quickly hit the button to bring up the caller, shocked to see Marth hunched over the screen, his face ashen white.

"Marth!" Joe didn't know what was going on, and he didn't like it. "What are you–"

"_Shh_!" Marth hissed at him, speaking in whispers. "The roof;" his voice cracked a little, "Pit's on the roof! I think he's gonna jump!"

"…What?"

"Just get over here – now!" And with that, the line went dead.

* * *

For the rest of his life, Captain Falcon would be unable to clearly remember that night. Bits and pieces stayed with him – snapshots, if you will, of a greater scene:

Pit standing on the ledge, fully prepared to jump to what he did not realize would be his death.

The captain himself, watching; frozen in horror and helpless to do anything to stop what he was witnessing.

And then, other pictures:

The door to the roof, bursting open.

Natasha and Marth breaking through, racing towards the figure poised on the ledge.

Pit, startled, beginning to fall.

Natasha leaping forwards, pulling him back with her own weight, landing in a toppled pile on the ground.

The angel struggling to rise as she held him there, shouting mindless insults at the sky as he was held back from accomplishing his plans.

The screaming, the cursing, the sheer amount of agony and hatred, pain and turmoil that kept the captain locked in place, still merely a spectator.

And then, that single word:

"Stop!"

* * *

"All of you – stop it this instant!" Joe shouted again, breathless and panting from his impromptu trip up two floors to the roof.

Looking around wildly, he felt he already knew the gist of what was going on. Captain Falcon was sitting crumpled by the lawn chairs on the near side of the roof, seemingly having fallen from one earlier and been unable to rise.

Marth, Natasha and Pit were also on the ground, albeit in a very different manner. Pit was laying face-down on the hard cement, held in place by Natasha's weight as she all but laid herself over top of him. He was bucking and screaming – the only one to have ignored Joe's command – and Joe shuddered at the sight. This wasn't the Pit he knew at all.

Marth was kneeling between the struggling duo and the railing to the roof, tense and prepared to join in if need be. The frazzled look on his face spoke for everyone's emotions, and Joe wasted no more time in taking action.

Strengthening his resolve, he straightened his jacket, wiping sweat from his brow as he walked over to where Natasha fought to keep her idol prisoner. Getting to his knees beside Marth, Joe bent to examine his patient best he could, though Pit wasn't making it easy. However, Joe could already feel the heat radiating from the boy's body, and the sounds coming from his throat were beginning to sound ragged, like those of a savage animal – that was enough for him to tell Pit wasn't in his right mind… not that Joe had thought otherwise.

"What are we supposed to do?" Marth's urgently whispered words pulled Joe out of his thoughts and snapped him back into reality. "Joe; he was about to jump off the roof! He isn't–"

"I know, Marth, I know." Joe hissed back, his own sense of urgency growing. "We don't have time to talk. I need a favour."

"Wha…?" Marth blinked, caught off guard and confused despite the situation. Shaking his head quickly, he consented. "Anything I can do to help!"

"Great, thanks." Joe glanced behind him where Captain Falcon was still in front of the wooden lawn chairs. "Grab one of those chairs, would you?"

Confused as he was, Marth asked no questions, jumping up quickly and running to do the doctor's bidding. Natasha, unaware of what was going on, called out for assistance, and Joe rushed to help her, throwing his own weight onto Pit's back (careful to avoid his injured wing) to keep him down long enough for Marth to get back with the chair.

"Okay, I've got it." The prince towered over them, holding a green-painted chair above his head. "…what was I supposed to do with this?"

"Uhhh." Joe looked up awkwardly from his task, nearly shouting to be heard over Pit's own screams. "I need you to hit him over the head!"

"What?" Marth and Natasha responded as one, eyes wide at the instructions, but Joe shook his head firmly.

"There's no time!" He shouted in a rush. "Things are going to get worse and I don't have the tools to do this properly. Just knock him out; he'll be fine!"

Still looking bewildered, Marth nodded slowly. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew the doctor knew what he was talking about – Joe was probably right. Turning the chair in his arms so that the back of it was facing the ground, Marth took a deep breath and closed his eyes, preparing himself for what he was about to do. Then, a moment later, he opened them again, and brought the chair down, hard.

* * *

"So are you going to be okay?" Kasey's voice was calm as she addressed him, but even Falcon could sense the tension behind it, and he nodded slowly.

"I'll be fine," he said hoarsely, "I just need some time. You go in where you're needed."

"If you're sure." Kasey rose to her feet from where she had been crouching at his side, beckoning for Peach to come to her.

"He's probably going to be all right," she said in a low voice, making sure Falcon couldn't hear, "but if you could keep an eye on him…"

"Sure thing, boss!" Peach mock-saluted, while being careful to keep her own voice quiet as well. "I've got lots of un-decorating to do, so I'll be sure to keep him busy."

"Thanks so much." Kasey smiled at the princess as she helped Falcon to his feet, and the unlikely duo made their way out of the room. Mere moments later, a hand touched Kasey on the shoulder, and she spun around to find Marth, Link, Red and Natasha staring at her earnestly.

"Well?" Natasha was the first to speak up, her eyes portraying exactly what she meant – _how is he doing?_

"He's stable." Kasey replied, flipping her messy ponytail back over her shoulder.

"Stable?" Link repeated, frowning. "Shouldn't he be awake by now? And okay?"

"It's only been an hour, Link," Kasey reminded the Hylian, "these things take time."

"But we–"

"That's enough, Link." Kasey shook her head. "I've already told you he's going to be okay. What more do you want?"

"I just want to see for myself." Link sighed then, rubbing his hand against his forehead. "I'm sorry. I'll wait." Walking slowly to one of the chairs in the room outside the clinic, he flopped gracelessly into it and buried his head in his hands. Exchanging a glance, the other three followed him, and Kasey ducked back into the clinic itself, hoping to be met with good news.

"Don't worry, Link," she heard Red whisper as she shut the door firmly behind her, "these things always turn out right in the end… don't they?"

* * *

"This banner needs to come down!" Peach's shout could be heard across the cafeteria, and Falcon leapt to his feet, ready to do her bidding at once.

Nodding with satisfaction, Peach watched as he tore down the poster that had once read "Welcome back, Pit!" and didn't notice when her closest friend came up behind her.

"You sure are keeping him distracted." Zelda commented smoothly, startling Peach into nearly dropping the various deflated balloons and other objects she held.

"Zelda; I didn't see you there!" The Mushroom Princess exclaimed, giggling a moment before replying. "And yes, that was the job Kasey gave me."

"I see." Zelda too smiled at the sight of Falcon tearing down decorations, but quickly turned serious again. "May I ask how he's doing?"

"Falcon?" Peach said nonchalantly. "He's okay; I mean, he would be much faster if he had multiple arms, or psychic powers or–"

"I was talking about Pit."

"Oh!" Peach's attention shifted suddenly, and she turned to her friend with a wistful look on her face. "We don't really know the details, to be honest. Kasey told us that he was going to be okay, but I didn't hear much more after that… I was asked to, err, babysit." She shrugged, and Zelda nodded slowly.

"I understand." The Hylian princess said.

There was a moment of silence, then Peach perked up suddenly and leaned forwards, "I did hear _something_ though," she said in a soft voice, careful so that Falcon wouldn't overhear, "about Pit."

"And what might that be?" Recognizing potential gossip, Zelda forced her typical moral standard back as curiosity – and concern – took over.

"Well, I overheard Joe and Kasey chatting earlier, during the party. I had stepped out into the hall to get some more punch, because Deedeedee had poured it all over the carpet and…"

"The point?"

"Right, sorry!" Peach giggled slightly, and then cleared her throat to continue. "Joe was talking about some guy named Brad – some doctor or something. I dunno." Shrugging yet again, she leaned in even closer, a grin growing on her face. "He said that this guy was going to try and make a wing for Pit!"

Zelda blinked and drew away again, stunned. "…what?"

"A fake wing!" Peach repeated, still grinning. "You know, a prosthetic? So he'd, like, look normal again!"

"I see."

"Isn't that awesome?" Peach's face showed her enthusiasm, and watching her, Zelda couldn't help but agree.

"It certainly seems like a good idea," she said approvingly, "granted that Pit is interested in it."

"Well why wouldn't he be?"

"I'm not sure, but you never know."

Peach pondered this a moment. "I suppose you're right. You never really know… hey, Falcon – put your back into it!"

Sighing contentedly, Zelda nodded a goodbye to her friend before turning away and starting towards the clinic. It was about time she saw for herself how everyone was doing…

* * *

"For the five hundredth time," The young angel's voice was tense as he answered the question posed at him, "I feel _perfectly fine_." He stared pointedly at the doctors addressing him. "Honest."

"I'm glad to hear you say so, Pit," Joe continued to scrutinize his patient's face as Kasey typed away on her laptop across the room, "but we have to be absolutely sure. Are you certain you don't–"

"I don't remember a thing."

"And the last–"

"The last thing I remember is being at the party. Everyone was playing video games, and then I fell asleep… or, I thought I did. I guess I didn't." He paused, then muttered to himself: "And here I thought it had been a dream."

"…_I have not use for you… perhaps when you are ready…"_

"What was that?" Joe gave him a funny look, and Pit shook his head quickly. "Nothing," he said just as fast, "sorry."

Frowning slightly, Joe went back to his examination, and Pit went over the bits of information he had in his head.

Allegedly, it had been hours since the end of the party – according to Joe it was sometime in the early afternoon of the next day. Pit, though he had no memory of it, had left the party and gone up to the roof, and then… well, he didn't want to think about that part. All he knew was that he owed this kid Natasha a thank you; and a big one, at that.

He also knew that he had since been given some sort of medication that would prevent that sort of thing from happening again, for which he was very grateful. Already he hated himself for what he had – nearly – done, and what he _had_ done to those involved in searching for him. He only wished there was someway he could make it up to them.

"_Just get better soon." _Kasey had said when he'd asked her, but that hardly seemed like enough. Besides, how was he supposed to get better if they kept him cooped up in bed all day? Simple, he thought to himself. He wasn't.

"So, can I go now?"

"Not yet," Joe said, glancing back at his assistant, "we're just waiting for–"

"Got it." Kasey announced suddenly. "He's on his way, apparently."

"Oh." Joe straightened up. "That was… fast."

"No joke." Kasey continued to type while Joe walked across the room and picked up some papers from the desk. Pit looked between the two with curiosity, wondering if the duo always left their patients in the dark about everything they did. Somehow, he decided, it really didn't seem to matter to them if he knew what was going on, as long as they did. That in mind, he figured it was hardly worth questioning.

"I'll be right back." Joe said, adjusting his white coat before exiting the room with the papers in hand. Pit watched him leave in complete silence, turning his gaze to Kasey as soon as he was gone.

The female doctor didn't even look up, resulting in Pit relaxing and lying back, closing his eyes with hopes to catch some z's before anything else horrible happened. It wasn't like there was anything else he could do at this point; _so I might as well make the best of it._


	16. Moving Forward

**A/N: **_Hey, I know it's been a while since my last update (apparently I lied last chapter, whoops!)- but I promise you know this story _will _be completed in due time. Every story I begin will be finished, eventually. I'm just a little slow at times, and for this, my apologies. _

_Now, thank you muchly for your patience, and without further ado- chapter sixteen!  
_

* * *

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, doctor," Joe paced in front of the tall man, leading him through the various halls of Brawl Manor. "We really appreciate it."

"Well I could hardly refuse, now could I?" Bradley Roadac smiled at him, doing his best to match Joe's pace. "It was a special request." The smile, along with every detail about the man reminded Joe distinctly of the young girl he had spoken to earlier that day.

Natasha had been insistent that he contact her father about this idea of hers – that of a prosthetic wing for Pit. Joe had yet to consult the angel about the thought, or even give it much himself, but he'd figured the first step would be discovering if it were even possible. After all, there was no point in getting everyone's hopes up if it couldn't be done.

"So where is Natasha?" Bradley spoke up once more as they rounded the final corner.

"She was in the med-bay last I saw her," Joe pulled the door to the said area open to reveal Marth, Link, Red and Natasha, unmoved from the time he had left the clinic.

"Dad!" Natasha stood up at once, racing forwards into her father's arms. Joe stepped aside quickly, making his way over to the Brawlers to allow Bradley and his daughter a moment.

"You guys don't have anything better to do with your time?"

"Not a thing," Link shrugged, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "We're waiting to see Pit, but Kasey's telling us we're going to be waiting a while…"

"That you are," Joe confirmed. "I'm taking Dr. Bradley in to see him about something now, but even then we can't have any visitors until we're sure he's feeling better."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that," the Hylian replied with a sigh. "Guess you're stuck with us until then."

"Guess so," Joe smiled tiredly down at him. "You two as well?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Red said quickly, and Marth nodded his agreement.

"All right, then," Joe looked up as Bradley and Natasha came back over to join them. "Are you ready to go in?"

"I think so," Bradley watched as his daughter returned to her seat between Marth and Link, shaking his head in either amazement or confusion; Joe couldn't tell. With one last wave at the Brawlers and the girl, Joe turned and lead the way through the back doors, into the hall that would lead them to Pit's room.

"He should be fine to talk to at this point," Joe said as they neared the door. He had already detailed the night's events to the other man – though he'd likely heard it from Natasha as well – and hoped everything would go well once they were inside Pit's room. "Just be gentle, of course."

"Of course," Bradley replied, stopping when Joe did and waiting as he pushed open the door. Bradley waited another moment or so before stepping in himself, allowing the door to click shut behind him.

It didn't take him long to figure out his surroundings. It was a typical, sterile "hospital" sort of setting – something Bradley was used to. Kasey, the young woman he'd been in contact with over the last few days, smiled at him from across the room. She was sitting cross legged on a chair near a pile of various machines – most not in use – with a laptop balanced on her legs. Bradley returned the smile quickly, then turned his attention to the reason he'd come to the manor in the first place.

"Hello, Pit."

"Uhh, hello." The young Brawler was sitting up in his bed, the covers thrown back as if he'd just gotten out. He looked slightly frazzled by the stranger's appearance, and Bradley noticed his injured wing fanning out behind him. No doubt he was self-conscious he'd not had time to hide it before their sudden entrance. "Who're you?"

"Pit!" Kasey exclaimed from across the room, but Bradley just smiled again.

"My name is Bradley," he answered calmly, walking over to lean on Link's chair at the bedside. "I don't suppose you have any idea why I'm here?"

"Not really." Pit leaned carefully against the headboard of his bed, still eyeing the newcomer warily. "But I guess you're going to tell me?"

"I could do that." Pulling back, Bradley laid a hand on top of the chair, sinking into it so that he was level with Pit as he prepared to explain. "Are you familiar with the term 'cosmetic prosthesis'?

* * *

Once the entirety of the manor had been successfully un-decorated, Peach and Falcon decided to make their way back up to the med-bay to meet with the others. Upon entering, they found pretty much what they'd expected. Nobody had moved. In fact, their numbers had been added to – Peach was surprised to find Samus and Zelda had joined the others in the small waiting room, where everyone was either flopped against the wall, chairs, or in Link's case using the chairs as a bed. Apparently he was still exhausted.

"Any news, then?" Peach sashayed her way into the room, Falcon following meekly behind her.

Zelda looked up. "Not really," she said honestly, moving over as her friend sat down next to her. "We're not really waiting for news this time, though."

"Oh, aren't we?"

"Naw," Red waved a dismissive hand from Peach's left where he was sitting on the floor. "Joe told us eons ago that he was okay. Now we're just waiting for them to let him out."

"And to tell us if the fake wing idea will work or not," Natasha added, and Peach turned to her other side to find the girl and Marth sitting in adjoining chairs a few feet away.

"I see," the princess said after a moment. "Sounds like… fun."

"It isn't, really," Samus said bitterly. "In fact, I'm about done with this place and you people. I don't even know why I came down here in the first–"

"You came because you were worried about Pit," Zelda said sharply. "The same reason as the rest of us."

"Don't pretend you don't like him, Samus," Red added teasingly. He grinned, but Samus wiped it off his face with a single glare.

"Fine, I like the kid, okay?" She admitted, growling. "But that doesn't mean I want to spend the rest of my day sitting around and–" She was cut off by the sound of the doors opening, and almost everyone in the room jumped to their feet (the exceptions being the snoring Link and Samus herself).

For a moment, nobody moved, and then Bradley walked out of the hallway. There was an audible sound of disappointment as everyone lowered themselves back into their seats.

Bradley smirked. "Not happy to see me?"

"No, Dad," Natasha said quickly. "We are. Just... we were hoping to see–"

"Pit?" Bradley's smirk turned into a friendly smile as he tugged open the door again. "Well in that case – see him."

There was yet another moment of silence, and then the angel stepped into the room, looking around timidly if anything. Joe ducked in after him, followed by Kasey, but nobody paid them any mind at all. Within seconds, Pit was surrounded.

"How are you feeling?" Peach asked, pressing immediately to the front of the throng to keep the others back.

"Uhhhh," Pit took a small step backwards, and Samus called out from behind them all.

"You're smotherin' the kid," she said, patting one of the chairs beside her. "Let him sit down, at least."

"Good idea." Peach roughly shoved the others out of the way, ignoring their muffled complaints as they ended up in a dog pile on the floor. Zelda and Natasha, who had had the common sense to step back, laughed.

"Come on, Pit," Peach lead the boy gently over to the chair Samus had indicated, waiting until he was seated to take the seat beside him. "There, better?"

Pit glanced over at the recovering Brawlers, oddly uncomfortable with the attention. "Uh, I guess so."

The angel's head was reeling. So much had happened in the last, what, twenty minutes? He had been introduced to the father of the girl who might have saved his life, who had told him that his wing could be repaired. Well, it could look like it anyway. And now, he was outside of the clinic, in the waiting room, and there were…

There were so many _people_.

Pit would never have imagined that there would have been so many people in the manor who actually cared about him. He was in shock.

Deciding to voice his confusion, he looked around the small room.

"…why are you all here?" he asked.

"To see you, stupid," Red answered quickly, scooting over so that he was sitting on the floor in front of the angel. "We were hoping we'd be able to come in soon."

"And then you came out to us," Peach said cheerily. "And you look so good!"

_Do I_? Pit thought, glancing down at himself with a sudden burst of self-consciousness. He had come out without his cloak on- his wing fully visible in all its mangled glory, but nobody seemed to even notice. His maimed hand was covered with a black glove, but nobody seemed to pay any mind to that either. They were just happy he was okay.

"Thanks, Peach," he said after a moment, suddenly feeling comfortable again. If his wing didn't bother any of them, why should it bother him? He would be fine; he was among friends.

"So did you talk to the doctor?" Samus was the first one to ask what was on everyone's mind, and Pit nodded slowly. He looked around at the circle that had formed once again, half sitting on the floor, half standing above him – Peach, Samus, Red, Marth, Natasha, Zelda, Falcon, Link (still sleeping)… Dr. Bradley, Joe and Kasey were still back at the far end of the room.

"He said he might be able to make me a fake wing," the angel said slowly. "So I would look… normal again." A pause, "and don't any of you tell me I look normal already!"

"Wasn't gonna," Samus said. The others just rolled their eyes.

"So are you going to get one?" Red asked.

Pit shrugged, "not sure. It's a cool idea though."

"I think it was Natasha's idea, actually," Zelda finally spoke up, and the others turned to look at her. "She suggested contacting her dad in the first place, didn't you?"

The girl looked up. She had been remaining silent to give the others their moment, but now the attention had been turned on her.

"Uhh, I think so," she said after a moment. "I just wanted to help."

"Oh, you've helped all right," Pit said back, perhaps a little too hastily. Now wasn't the time for that, he told himself. _Later_.

"So when can you get out of here?" Peach changed the subject back to the first one.

"As soon as we say he can," Joe answered on the boy's behalf, coming up behind them. "Which will probably be any time now." He smiled, and Peach returned it.

"Good," she said. "We should throw a party!"


End file.
